Be Brave
by WeArePioneers
Summary: "Toby." A smile turns up my lips. "I.. I missed you. So much." (Permanent disclaimer for the entire story right here because I'm running out of ways to say that I don't own Divergent!)
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey, y'all! I am so so, sorry that I haven't updated in like two years! Life's been crazy for me lately. I can't make any promises, but I'll try to update as often as I can. I know this plot has been used a lot, but it's something I've been working on for a while. If you've read (and loved) Divergent, then you most likely know Tobias Eaton, also known as the infamous Four. But what would Divergent be like if Four had a little sister? I'll shut up and let you find out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I don't own The Hunger Games. I don't own Divergent. *sigh***

* * *

_Two Years Ago_

"Should we say grace?" I ask Tobias as I sit down next to him.

He thinks about it for a minute, then shakes his head. "Nah, Dad's not here." I nod. He grabs the serving bowl and scoops half of the peas onto his plate, then passes the bowl to me. He hands me a piece of bread and I grab my own chicken breast.

We're both quiet for a few minutes as we're eating. When Tobias pauses to take a sip of his water, I decide to speak. "So… the aptitude tests were today." The aptitude tests are given to every sixteen-year-old in all of the factions. They tell the sixteen-year-olds what faction they have the most aptitude for - Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Erudite, or Dauntless. Then tomorrow, at the Choosing Ceremony, they decide on which faction they want to become. Tobias is sixteen, so he took the aptitude test.

He nods. "Yeah."

"What did you get?" I ask. He doesn't answer and I wasn't expecting him to. You're supposed to keep your results to yourself. Silence falls over us again for another handful of minutes. I push my peas around with my spoon. "You're thinking about leaving." It's not a question. Tobias has been thinking about leaving - leaving Abnegation, leaving our horrible, horrible father.

"I'm not going to," He mutters, tearing a piece of his bread off and eating it. "I can't."

"Why can't you?" I ask, though I already know his reply.

He gives me a look. "You know good and well why I'm not leaving."

"Yeah, I do." I drop my spoon and it lands on my plate with a loud clatter. "And it's stupid. You shouldn't stay here just because I'm here, Toby."

"You're a stupid reason for me to stay?" He raises an eyebrow. "Lucy, you're the only person I care about - well, the only live person I care about. That's not a good enough reason for me to stay?"

I shake my head. "No! The only thing you'll do if you stay is make yourself miserable! I want you to get out of here."

"Well, I'm not gonna leave without you," He argues.

"Yes, you are," I say, giving him a look. When he opens his mouth to speak, I cut him off, "I'm fourteen, Toby. You leave tomorrow and in two years, I'll leave, too."

Tobias glares at me, but stays silent for the rest of dinner. It isn't until we're getting ready to go to bed that he speaks up. "Lucy," He says, leaning against the wall between our bedrooms. "I'll make you a deal… If I leave tomorrow, then when you're sixteen, you have to leave."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "You think I'm staying in this… living hell?" When he smiles, I do as well. "Nothing in this world could make me wanna stay here."

"Good." He pulls me into a hug. I hug him back. "Love you, Lucy."

"Love you, too, Toby." When we pull away, I ask, "Can I… stay with you? At least until Dad comes back? I… I wanna spend one last night with you before you leave."

"Of course." He pushes his bedroom door open. "C'mon."

The next day, at the Choosing Ceremony, Tobias chooses Dauntless. I feel a slight pang of sadness when his blood drips over the Dauntless coals, but it quickly vanishes. Before he leaves, I catch his eye. He grins at me and I grin back. Then he's gone.

That night, Dad is furious. His screaming and yelling makes my ears hurt. I'm blamed for my brother leaving and I get beaten because of it. My body is bruised, bandaged, and sore when I crawl into bed. But I fall asleep with a smile on my face, feeling a sense of relief that I've never felt before.

Tobias is safe.

Tobias is safe and, two years from now, I will be, too.

I'm already counting down the days until I become the second Eaton to leave Abnegation.

* * *

**A/N: How is that? I'll try to update this soon, as well as my other stories (I'm already working on A New Home). Don't forget to review!**


	2. Aptitude Tests

**A/N: Woohoo! Two chapters in one day! This almost never happens!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I didn't get ownership of Divergent for Christmas. :(**

* * *

_Present Day_

My body feels like it's been ran over by a train when I wake up. Dad had been particularly violent last night, which I guess I understand. Today is the day of the aptitude tests - my aptitude test. His violence was a way of telling me that I'd better not think about choosing any faction other than Abnegation.

My back is covered with long red marks that look clearly like belt marks, some of which are bleeding. My stomach and sides are an ugly painting of green, black, blue, purple, and yellow. My back stings when I stand under the spray of the shower as I do my best to clean myself up. Dad is nowhere to be seen. He went to work early this morning, something I'm grateful for. I grab a pair of shears and slide back the panel in the upstairs hallway. Behind it is the only mirror in the house - the only mirror in every Abnegation house. Other factions are allowed to have as many mirrors as they want and are allowed to stand in front of them as long as they want to, but not in Abnegation. I'm only allowed to stand in front of the mirror on the second day of every third month - the day I cut my hair.

My mom used to cut mine and my brother's hair for us up until she passed away when I was six years old. Then my brother Tobias would cut my hair and I'd cut his hair. After he left, two years ago, I started cutting my own hair. I never let my father cut my hair - he always does unevenly and I'd always end up with nicked ears and small cuts along the back of my neck.

My hair is super-curly so I cut it while it's still wet from my shower and straight. When it's dry and I've finished cutting, I carefully twist it into a bun. Then I look at myself.

I gasp when I lift my eyes to the mirror and see an image of Tobias instead of myself. Tall - he's always been taller than me - and wearing Dauntless black instead of the traditional grey of our faction. His hair just slightly longer than the Abnegation regulations for how long a man's hair is allowed to be. The only thing that's unchanged about this mirror Tobias is his eyes. An unusual dark blue - the same color and same shade as my own eyes.

I reach out to touch him and see him do the same. Then the image disappears, leaving me all alone, touching the mirror. Tears form in my eyes and the scissors fall out of my hands. The mirror image falls to her knees at the same time I do.

"One more day," I whisper to myself, trying and failing to hold back sobs. "One more day and then you're out of here. Tomorrow, you'll get to see him again." The last words we said to each other revolve around in my head.

_ "You sure about this?" The roar of people around us make it hard for me to hear Tobias's whisper. "I don't have to go if you don't want me to."_

_ "I'm not backing out that easily," I tell Toby. "I still want you to go."_

_ He glances around the giant room, then pulls me into a hug. "Goodbye," He whispers in my ear. "I love you, Lucy."_

_ "I love you too, Toby," I whisper back. When we both pull away, I add, "I'll see you two years from now."_

_ His smile makes me smile as well. "I'll see you two years from now, too." Then he goes to take his place with the other sixteen-year-olds._

The past two years have been hard. To this day, my dad still blames me for Tobias leaving and I still get beaten as a punishment for convincing him to do so. Sometimes I have to force myself to just get out of bed in the morning. The only thing that keeps me going is mine and Tobias's deal. My wait is almost over. I'm almost out of the woods.

I slide the panel back over the mirror, then head downstairs to make myself breakfast. I can't wait to go to school. I can't wait for the aptitude tests.

* * *

"Today, each of you will given an aptitude test," Mrs. Sanders, an Erudite teacher in a blue suit tells the cafeteria full of sixteen-year-olds. "The test will ask you a series of questions which will lead you to find the faction you have the most aptitude for. You will be called in groups of ten - two people per faction. After your tests, you will come back to the cafeteria and once everyone is tested, you will be allowed to leave. Does anyone have any questions?"

No one speaks up, not even anyone from Erudite, which surprises me somewhat. The Erudite always ask questions, to assist in their endless pursuit of knowledge.

An Abnegation volunteer steps forward and announces the first round of names. Two boys in grey sitting at my table stand up. I watch them join an almost uniform line of two black, two blue, two yellow and red, and two black and white.

I fold my hands in my lap and study the wood grains in the table. I hear laughing, talking, and even singing from the tables around me. But the people sitting at the same table as I am and the table next to us remain silent. It's pretty boring - sitting around, doing nothing - but the customs of our faction prevent us from doing anything else.

It seems like forever before I hear: "From Abnegation: Benjamin Collins and Lucille Eaton." I have to force myself to remain calm and not show my excitement as I get up.

I look up as I walk into room 6, then look down immediately. The walls of the testing room I'm in are composed of mirrors. Instead I focus on what looks like a dentist's chair and the machine next to it. A twinge of fear fills me for a moment before I shake it off.

"Have a seat and get comfortable," My test administrator - a Dauntless woman with black hair - tells me. "My name is Tori."

I quickly sit in the chair and get settled while Tori fiddles with the machine. With her turned away from me, I see a black-and-white hawk with a red eye tattooed on the back of her neck. I open my mouth to ask what it means, then shut it. I am not supposed to be curious - it is a betrayal of Abnegation values

"You're awfully quiet," She comments, pressing an electrode to my forehead. I just nod, not sure whether or not I should say anything. She hums as she attaches another electrode to my forehead, then one to her forehead. "I tested your brother," She says as she attaches wires to me, her, the machine. "He was just as quiet." Then she picks up a vial of clear liquid and hands it to me. "Drink this."

I examine it, then look up at her. "What is this?"

"Now you talk." She smirks slightly. "Can't tell you. Just trust me."

I tilt the vial and drink it as fast as I can. My eyes close before I can give her the vial back.

* * *

When my eyes open again, I'm no longer in the testing room. I'm in the cafeteria. The tables are empty and the room is devoid of people. Through the glass walls, I see it's snowing despite the fact that it's summer. I turn and run into a table. This table has two baskets - one holds a large chunk of cheese, the other a wicked-looking knife as long as my forearm.

"Choose." A woman's voice says from behind me. I jump.

"Why?" I turn around, but there's no one there.

"Choose," She repeats. I pick up the knife and feel a sense of danger when I do. The baskets vanish. I hear a door squeak and some growling. There's a dog on the other side of the room when I turn around. It barks and the hair on the back of my neck stands on end.

The dog charges. Instincts take over. I side-step and slash at it with the knife. The dog runs right into the table, then jumps back. Its dark brown coat shines with blood and I see a jagged cut along its back from where I hit it. The dog whimpers and lays on its stomach. Instantly, I feel bad.

"Oh, you poor thing." Without thinking, I drop the knife and kneel next to the dog. The dog looks up at me with begging eyes. I take my outer shirt off and press it to the cut on the dog's back and it's almost immediately stained with blood. "It's okay," I murmur when the dog whimpers. "I'm so sorry." I pat its head gently.

I almost forget that I'm still in the test until I hear a door squeaking open again. I turn slowly, expecting another dog, but it's not. It's a little girl in a white dress. "Puppy!" She squeals, holding her arms out.

_"No!"_ I shout when she starts running towards me, but it's too late. The dog - which was lying, hurt, next to me just a moment ago - is now up. My outer shirt falls on the floor when it rushes at the little girl, barking and snapping. I don't think; I chase after the dog. When I get close enough, I jump on it, forcing its mouth shut with my hands.

The dog and the girl disappear. I hit the ground, groaning in pain when I land on my bruised stomach. When I stand up, I find I'm in the testing room again. I try to keep my eyes away from the mirror, but stop and turn in a slow circle when I realize something.

I can't see my reflection in any of the mirrors.

I walk out into the hallway, only to find it isn't a hallway - it's a bus and all the seats are taken. I go to walk down the aisle and end up tripping over my pants. I get up and stumble again - this time into a newspaper.

"S-sorry," I stutter, darting away. I go to say something else, but stop. I can't see the face of the man I stumbled into, but I can see his hands. The scars on them remind me of the scars on my back, but they aren't from being hit with a belt. They are burn scars.

"Do you know this guy?" The man asks me. One long finger - with burn scars wrapping around it like wisps of smoke - taps the front page of the newspaper. "Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!" is the headline. I shiver at the word "murderer."_ "This isn't real,"_ I tell myself. _"It's just a test."_

Under the headline is a picture of a man with a beard. The picture brings a twinge of recognition, though I've never seen the man in my entire life. I feel like I shouldn't tell the man I recognize him.

"Well?" He asks and he sounds angry. "Do you?" Definitely shouldn't tell him.

"Nope," I lie, trying to act casual. "Never seen him before."

The man tosses the newspaper to the side and stands up. I see his face and force myself not to react. He's wearing sunglasses, so I can't see his eyes, and his mouth is twisted in an angry scowl. But that isn't what surprises me; it's his cheek, which scarred with burns just like his hands. He leans forward so that he's right in my face. The strong smell of cigarettes on his breath makes me cough. _"Just a test,"_ I tell myself. _"Just a test!"_

"You're lying!" He accuses me. "You're lying!"

"No, I'm not," I say, mustering up the placid demeanor of the Abnegation.

"You are! I can see it you eyes!"

"You can't."

"If you know him," He says, raising his voice, "you could _save_ me!"

"Well, " I say, putting on my best look of innocence, "I'd love to say I do, but… I don't."


	3. An Easy Choice

**A/N: Woohoo! Three chapters in two days! This never happens!**

**Disclaimer: I'm running out of sarcastic ways to say that I don't own Divergent. Or any of the things I write fanfic about for that matter.**

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I awake with a gasp. My hands clutch the chair's armrests and it takes me a moment to remember where I am.

"Well." Tori purses her lips. "That was… interesting." She pulls the electrode off her head, then off mine. "Stay right here," She tells me.

I'll… be right back." She quickly walks out of the room, leaving me perplexed and staring after her.

I'm looking at my feet when she returns a few minutes later. "What're my results?" I ask curiously as soon as she shuts the door.

"Lucille," She says with a calm, yet serious tone, "your test results were inconclusive. Typically, each stage of the simulation eliminates one or more of the factions, but in your case, only three have been ruled out."

I stare at her as the words click into place. "Only three…?" I know what that means, but I want her to confirm it.

"You selected the knife - which is something Dauntless would do," Tori starts to explain, "but when the dog ran into the table after you hit it, you went to its aid, which is an Abnegation-oriented response. You refused to tell the man the truth, which ruled out Candor." She smirks slightly. "But don't worry about that. Only the Candor tell the truth in that one.

I smirk as well.

"Wait, that's not entirely true. " Her smile turns into a frown. "People who tell the truth are the Candor… and the Abnegation. Which gives us a problem."

My eyes widen.

"Treating the dog when after it was injured, as well as throwing yourself on the dog rather than letting it attack the little girl are both Abnegation-oriented responses… but so is telling the truth." A lock of dark hair falls into her face when she shakes her head. "Stabbing the dog is a Dauntless response, as is jumping on it…"

My smile falls from my face. "Does that mean…"

"You display equal aptitude for Abnegation and Dauntless." She looks towards the door cautiously, as if expecting someone to come barging in unexpectedly. "People who get this type of result are called…" She lowers her voice to a whisper… "Divergent."

I _knew it_. I just _knew it_!

"Lucille," Tori kneels next to the chair so that we are face-to-face, "under no circumstances should you share this information with anyone - never, _ever_, no matter what happens. Divergence is extremely dangerous. Do you understand?"

I nod - my father told me about this.

"If anyone asks your results - and no one should - I entered Dauntless into the system." She pats my knee. "You should go now."

And I do. I walk out of the testing room and to cafeteria without looking back. I reclaim my seat and study the table's wood grains once more. Apparently, I was sitting there for almost forever, because the final group is called in after I sit down.

When they walk out ten minutes later, Mrs. Sanders appears once more. "The aptitude tests are now done," She announces. "Remember that you are not allowed to speak about your results with _anyone_, not even family or friends. The Choosing Ceremony will be tomorrow night at the Hub. Please plan to arrive at least ten minutes before it begins. You are dismissed."

Everyone rushes to be the first to be out the door, except for the Abnegation. The Abnegation, who will not even stand until everyone else is out the door. They'll be waiting for well over an hour, letting other people get on the bus before them. And any other day, I would be doing that as well, but today, I don't think I can. So when nobody is looking, I sneak out of the cafeteria's fire exit, being careful not to push the alarm. I turn right in the alley, away from the buses, and take the way my brother had shown me years ago. Defying my faction's customs, I run.

Dad isn't at home when I get back. I'm confused for a minute, then I remember; he worked late the night before Tobias's Choosing Ceremony, said something about wanting to let him have some time to think before he became an adult. He said something yesterday about doing the same thing for me, though I don't quite understand why. Either way, I happy to have the house to myself.

I love drawing; always have, always will. My dad hated it, but my mom loved it and encouraged me. She even went as far as to give me a drawing pad and a box of colored pencils - something banned in Abnegation, who sees art as impractical and time appreciating it as time that could be spent helping others. I lock my bedroom door and retrieve my drawing pad and colored pencils from their hiding place underneath the floorboards in my closet. I sit at my desk and open the drawing pad to an open page. I grab a black pencil and place my head close to the pad as I begin.

Long, swooping lines. A million half-ovals for feathers. A sharp beak, partially open. I switch back and forth, between black, gray, and white, trying to find the perfect combination. Scaly feet tipped that end in curved talons. I smile as I lean back in my chair after finishing, a red pencil in my hand. It's a hawk - the one that I saw tattooed on the back of Tori's neck.

I stay in my room and draw until I get hungry. I make myself dinner, eat, then clean up, and go back upstairs. The scars on my back are scabbing - a good sign, meaning that they're healing. My stomach and sides, however, are still a mosaic of ugly colors. I douse a washcloth in cold water and place it across my abdomen. A sigh of relief escapes my lips as the throbbing of the bruises is alleviated. I keep the washcloth on my stomach for a few minutes, then disinfect my back.

My clock reads ten-thirty p.m. when I go back into my room. I should go to bed - in case Dad's in a bad mood when he gets home - but I have one more picture that I have to draw. I flip to another empty page and take out orange, yellow and red pencils.

The day of my brother's Choosing Ceremony, just before we left, he placed a blue crystal sculpture of a bird - something our mom gave us when we were little - on his desk as an act of defiance against our father. Dad hasn't gone into Tobias's room since he left, so he hasn't seen the sculpture. I draw a picture of a fire encased in a circle.

The Dauntless seal.

Tomorrow I will open my drawing pad to this page and set it - along with my box of colored pencils - on my bed as my own act of defiance against my father. But tonight I put them back in their hiding place and go to sleep for the last time in my bed.

* * *

My legs burn as I walk up the last of flight of stairs in the Hub to get to the Choosing Ceremony. Excitement runs through my veins as I nod my thanks to Andrew Prior - an Abnegation leader who is holding the door open for all the Abnegation who are walking in - as I walk in.

The room the ceremony is being held in is a buzz of noise and activity. I have not been in here since I was fourteen. The sixteen-year-olds of every faction and their families are here. This is the room where we will decide on the rest of our lives.

It is hard to maintain a composed exterior.

"Lucille!" A voice calls out.

I look around and see my father coming towards me. "Dad." I try not to cringe when he gives me a quick hug.

"Are you nervous?" He asks me.

"A little," I say and I am, but not for the reason he thinks. "I can't wait to join._"Dauntless,"_ I add in my mind.

He smiles and squeezes my shoulder gently. "Well, it won't be much longer." Then he goes to greet Jack Kang, the leader of Candor.

The sixteen-year-olds of every faction - myself included - arrange themselves in a semi-circle according to the alphabetical order of our last names. Abnegation is hosting this year's Choosing Ceremony, so once everyone is seated, my father - one of Abnegation's leaders - takes to the stage in the center of the room. Abnegation is hosting this year's Choosing Ceremony, so once everyone is seated, my father - one of Abnegation's leaders - stands at the podium between the Dauntless and the Erudite. He will make the opening address and read the names in reverse alphabetical order.

"Welcome," He says. "Welcome to the Choosing Ceremony. Welcome to the day we honor the democratic philosophy of our ancestors, which tells us that every man has a right to choose his own way in his world. Our dependents are now sixteen. They stand of precipice of adulthood and now it is up to them to decide what kind of people they will be." I try to focus my attention on the blue lanterns across the room, to fade into them so my anticipation won't show. "Decades ago, our ancestors realized that it is not political ideology, religious belief, race, or nationalism that is to blame for a warring world. Rather, they determined that it was the fault of human personality - of humankind's inclination toward evil, in whatever form it is. They divided into factions that sought to eradicate those qualities they believed to be responsible for the world's disarray."

My eyes shift to the five bowls in the center of the room. They each hold one thing for the five factions. Soil for Amity, gray stones for Abnegation, glass for Candor, lit coals for Dauntless, and water for Erudite. I remember my brother letting his blood drip into the lit coals; I can see myself doing the same thing.

"Those who blamed aggression formed Amity."

I look over at the Amity. Dressed in varying shades of red and yellow, the brightness of their clothes hurts my eyes.

"Those who blamed ignorance became the Erudite."

I do not like Erudite. They have been releasing antagonistic reports about the Abnegation. Some of them accuse my father of abusing me and Tobias - which _is_ true - and others accuse the Abnegation of keeping goods such as fresh food and such from the other factions - which _isn't_ true.

"Those who blamed duplicity created Candor."

My aptitude test made it clear that I wouldn't make it in Candor.

"Those who blamed selfishness made Abnegation."

When I was little - before my father started beating me and my brother - I used to dream of joining Abnegation. Getting married, having kids, and spending my life doing selfless things such helping the factionless. Now? I can't imagine joining Abnegation.

"And those who blamed cowardice were the Dauntless."

A cruel smile lift my lips for a brief moment. I remember once hearing someone from Dauntless say that bullying is sign of cowardice. Abuse is a type of bullying, right? This is going to be an easy choice.

"Working together, these five factions have lived in peace for many years, each contributing to a different sector of society. Abnegation has fulfilled our need for selfless leaders in government; Candor has provided us with trustworthy and sound leaders in law; Erudite has supplied us with intelligent teachers and researchers; Amity has understanding counselors and care-takers; and Dauntless provides us with protection from threats both within and without. But the reach of each faction is not limited to these areas. We give one another far more than can be adequately summarized. In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life."

There's a motto in my Faction History textbook: _Faction before blood_. Faction before family. Faction before friends. Faction before anything else. Technically, I am putting faction before blood (before my father) since Dauntless was one of the factions I displayed an aptitude for. Right?

Dad adds, "Apart from them, we would not survive."

A heavy silence falls upon the room. I look down To be factionless is everyone's worst fear. To be factionless is to not fit in with any of the factions, to live homeless, without a purpose and without a reason to live.

He takes a deep breath before continuing "Therefore this day marks a happy occasion - the day on which we receive our new initiates, who will work with us toward a better society and a better world."

A round of applause follows the opening address. I try to focus my attention on the lanterns on the other side of the room again as my dad reads the first name. An Amity girl with red hair is the first to choose. She takes the knife she is offered and lets her blood fall on the soil, deciding to return to the faction from which she came. One by one, every sixteen-year-old steps out of the semi-circle and walks to the center of the room when their name is called. They make their choice, then stand behind their new faction, whether it be the one they grew up in or a new one.

All of them choose the faction of their origin until "James Tucker" is called upon.

I recognize James Tucker from my Faction History class. We sat next to each other. His face turns red - a color that contrasts with his electric blue hair - when he trips and he almost runs to the middle of the room. Dad offers him the knife and he accepts. The Dauntless sections gets loud for a minute when he jerks his hand over the Candor glass. He is the first faction transfer.

"Caleb Prior."

A boy with dark hair and grey Abnegation clothes steps out of the semi-circle. He is Andrew Prior's son. He accepts the knife. And does the one thing that sends the whole room into a frenzy.

He chooses Erudite.

_Erudite._

The Erudite, a lot of whom are a bunch are arrogant jerks who think they know it all. The crowd of Erudite grin smugly at each other. I watch as Caleb Prior walks over and stands behind the sea of blue. The Abnegation, whisper to each other tensely and angrily, and glare across the room at the other faction.

"Excuse me," My dad says, but he says it too softly. He tries again, this time shouting, "Quiet, please!"

The room goes silent.

He continues with the list of names, "Beatrice Prior"

Caleb Prior's sister. Her legs shake a little as she walks to the center of the room. I expect her to choose Abnegation, the faction she's originally from - as some kids do when their sibling chooses a different faction. She drags the knife across her palm and holds it over the Abnegation bowl, but then unexpectedly shifts her hand at the last second. Her blood droplets hit lit coals instead of grey stones.

My eyes widen. Will there be anyone joining Abnegation this year? If I weren't so intent on getting away from my abusive father, I would. Fortunately for Abnegation, the rest of its sixteen-year-olds decide to stay. Until they come to me.

"Lucille Eaton."

I keep my eyes focused ahead of me as I make my way to the middle of the room. Dad smiles at me as he hands me my knife and I smile slightly back in return. _"Goodbye,"_ I think as I accept the knife. It stings when I dig the blade into my palm, but it doesn't hurt that much. Without so much as a second thought, I stick my hand over the Dauntless bowl.

The sizzle of my blood on the coals is music to my ears.

* * *

**A/N: Was that good? I hope so 'cause I've already started on the fourth chapter! Don't forget to review!**


	4. Welcome to Dauntless

**A/N: Hey, y'all! I'm baack! Since I keep going days without updating (more Internet problems) I'll just let you guys read this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Eh, I've got nothing.**

* * *

Dad looks like he wants to slap me. I simply turn my back on him and walk over to the Dauntless section. Max, one of the Dauntless leaders, pats my shoulder and welcomes me into Dauntless. A man standing next to Max hands me a small bandage for my hand and sends me to the back of the Dauntless section.  
I stare at the lanterns across the room, trying to keep my expression unreadable. My father continues to read the names. He manages to stay calm, but beneath the facade is barely restrained fury. He has no more punching bags now, no one left take his anger out on. But it's kind of hard to feel safe when he's just on the other side of the Dauntless section. When it feels like he might come over any time now and beat the living daylights out of me. I remind myself that he can't hurt me anymore, but I'm about to start bouncing in place by the time the last name is called.  
After the last person - a girl in a yellow dress - makes her choice - Amity - it's time to leave. The Dauntless are the first to go. I feel like someone's burning a hole in my back, but I don't look back. I don't want to see the look my father is giving me from across the room. I'm not paying attention to where the Dauntless are going so I end up tripping on the steps. When I recover, they've started running.  
A smile turns up my lips as I catch up. I hear shouts and laughter all around me. Running is makes me more breathless than walking, but its well worth it. The cool air makes me shiver when I get outside and the sun is starting to set. The Dauntless run out into the street, blocking a bus waiting outside of the Hub. A few people hurry to get out of the way. I push my legs to go as fast as they can so I can stay within the crowd. When I'm around the corner, I hear a blaring horn and a loud metal screeching.  
"Oh, no," An Erudite boy murmurs. "Are we supposed to hop on that thing?"  
"Yes," Beatrice, the only other Abnegation transfer, says breathlessly.  
Everyone spreads out in a line of sorts. The train is big and magnificent as it approaches. The light on the front of it flickers on and off and all of the car doors are open. I flinch at the sheer size of the train as it passes. The Dauntless all pile into the cars as if it's nothing, and to them it is.  
I start running next to the train with the other transfers and grab the handle on the last car. The wind is strong when I manage to pull myself into the car and it makes me stumble into a Candor boy. "Watch it, Stiff," He snaps, shoving me away from him.  
My cheeks heat up. "Sorry," I mumble, backing away from him until my back hits the wall. I sit near the doorway and watch the last of the transfers climb on. I watch an Erudite girl by the door reach out to grab the hand of an Erudite boy struggling to catch up to the train, but he's too far away. The boy falls to his knees by the tracks and puts his head in his hands. He is factionless now.  
I look away. We haven't even made to the Dauntless headquarters yet and someone has already failed initiation. I keep myself from wondering who will be next by vaguely listening to everyone around me and watching the ever-changing collage of new and old buildings that the train passes. "I wish I could draw right now," I think to myself. "This would make a really good picture."  
It's at least a half an hour before someone shouts, "They're jumping off!" And the boy is right: The Dauntless are jumping onto a rooftop.  
I do a double take when I realize the tracks and the rooftop are both seven stories up and there is a gap between the two. "They're jumping off?" I whisper to myself.  
"We have to jump off too, then," a Candor girl with crooked teeth and broad shoulders says.  
"Great, because that makes perfect sense, Molly," responds the Candor boy who shoved me. "Leap off a train onto a roof."  
"This is kind of what we signed up for, Peter," the girl - Molly - says. The boy - Peter - doesn't reply, but looks away and crosses his arms huffily.  
I notice an Amity boy sitting against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest. "Well, I'm not doing it," He says, his cheeks wet with tears.  
"You've got to," Another Candor girl says, "or you fail. Come on, it'll be alright."  
"He shakes his head. "No, it won't!" There's no mistaking the panic in his voice. "I'd rather be factionless than dead!"  
"You can't force him," Beatrice tells the Candor girl.  
I stare at the boy for a moment. I want to try to convince him to come, but I don't want to miss my chance to jump and end up factionless as well. So I just shake my head and turn away from him. Then I take a running start and jump out of the car.  
There's a moment of terror when I sail over the gap and I'm terrified that I won't make it. Then my body collides with the roof. I land on my feet, and then I stumble and fall face-first into the gravel. The last of the transfers are jump off as I stand up and brush the gravel off my face and out of my clothes.  
Someone shrieks and I look around, searching for the person it came from. A Dauntless girl stands at the edge of the rooftop, screaming and staring down at the ground. A Dauntless boy has his arms wrapped around her waist to keep her from falling.  
"Rita," He says in calm voice. "Rita, calm down."  
I look over the edge and see the body of a Dauntless girl on the ground. Her hair is spread out around her head like a fan and her limbs are bent at unnatural angles. I slap a hand over my mouth and turn away, trying to stay composed.  
"Ooh. Scandalous! A Stiff's flashing some skin!" Peter shouts.  
I look up. Stiff is slang for Abnegation and there are only two of us here. Peter is pointing at Beatrice, who has her sleeve pulled up above her elbow. Her cheeks turn pink and she pushes her sleeve down.  
"Listen up!" Max shouts. He's standing on the ledge on the other side of the roof. "My name is Max! I am one of the leaders of your new faction! Several stories below us is the member's entrance to our compound. If you can't muster the will to jump off, you don't belong here. Our initiates have the privilege of going first."  
"You want us to jump off a _ledge_?" asks an Erudite girl. She's standing next to me and I can see the shock written on her face. I don't know why she's surprised.  
"Yes," Max says with an amused look.  
"Is there water at the bottom or something?"  
He raises his eyebrows. "Who knows?"  
The crowd that's gathered splits in half, making a path for the initiates. At first, no one steps forward. I try to, but my knees are locked and when I try to move they start shaking.  
Looking confident, Beatrice walks to the ledge. Max steps aside, giving her space. For a moment, Beatrice just stares over the ledge. Then she undoes the hooks on her outer shirt and slides it off, revealing a tighter gray t-shirt underneath. There are catcalls and shouts when she balls the shirt up and hurls it at Peter. Then she jumps.  
The crowd of Dauntless members claps. Max watches her fall, and then looks up. "Who's next?"  
I don't think - I walk to the edge of the roof. "Take your shirt off!" Someone yells. My whole body trembles when I climb onto the ledge. This building creates one side of a square with three other buildings. In the middle of the buildings is a square of concrete with giant hole in the middle of it.  
It's now or never. Ignoring the catcalls behind me, I jump.  
A shriek escapes my lungs. I watch the square get smaller and smaller as I free fall, then turn into a circle when I fall through the hole. I land on what feels like a slab of concrete at first, but then it gives way and makes me tosses me into the air before I land on it once more. The two impacts make me unintentionally groan - my back isn't completely healed from the belt whippings I got last night and this morning. Despite the pain from my back, I laugh hysterically - I landed on a net.  
Two pairs of hands reach out to me from the edge of the net. I grab the first pair of hands I can get a hold of and scoot across to the edge. My legs wobble when I swing them over the edge of the net and I stumble into a person when I hop onto the wooden platform.  
"S-sorry," I stutter, taking a small step back. My eyes shift up to the face of the person I stumble into and I gasp.  
He's taller than when I last saw him, and more muscular as well. His hair a little longer, too, but not super long. Just like the image I saw in the mirror yesterday, the only thing that's unchanged about him are his eyes - they're still the same dark blue as they've always been. Nobody else in Dauntless could have eyes that exact shade of blue.  
"Tobias," I whisper, my voice barely audible. "_Toby_."  
He doesn't say anything, but the corners of his lips turn up in a small smile.  
"Damn. Two Stiffs?" says a girl standing to Tobias. She has dark hair and three rings through her right eyebrow. She smirks at me.  
"What's your name?" Tobias asks.  
I'm confused - why does he ask what my name is when he already knows it? I answer anyway, "Lucille."  
"Lucille," He repeats, looking at the girl. "Make the announcement, Lauren."  
Lauren looks over her shoulder. "Second jumper - Lucille!" She calls out.  
It's just then that I notice a crowd below the platform that we stand on. They cheer and pump their fists.  
As another person falls into the net, Tobias puts a hand on my shoulder. "Welcome to Dauntless," He says.

* * *

When all the initiates are on solid ground, Tobias and Lauren lead us down a long, narrow tunnel that is lit at long intervals. The walls of the tunnel are narrow and the ceiling slopes, making me feel slightly claustrophobic.  
The two leaders stop at a fork in the tunnel and turn to face us. "This is where we split," Lauren says. "The Dauntless-born initiates are with me. I assume you don't need a tour of the place." She smiles and nods toward the right tunnel. The Dauntless-born initiates break away from the group and follow Lauren.  
When they're gone, Tobias speaks up. "Most of the time I work in the control room, but for the next few weeks, I am your instructor." He glances at me as he says, "My name is Four."  
"Four? Did he change his name? Or is that just a nickname that he got?  
"Four?" Christina - one of the Candor transfers - says. "Like the number?"  
"Yes," He says. "Is there a problem?"  
"No."  
"Good. We're about to go into the Pit, which you will someday learn to love. It-"  
"The Pit?" Christina snickers. "Clever name."  
Tobias walks up to Christina and leans down so that his face is close to hers. He narrows his eyes and for a moment, he just stares at her. It's a scare tactic, obviously, something the two of us would use on each other sometimes whenever we argued.  
"What's your name?" He asks in quiet voice.  
"Christina," She peeps.  
"Well, Christina," He says and the annoyance in his voice is clear as day to me, "if I wanted to put up with a bunch of Candor smart-mouths, I would have joined their faction. The first lesson you will learn from me to keep your mouth shut. Got that?"  
She nods.  
Tobias gives me a look as he straightens up. I raise an eyebrow at him. Then he turns around and continues toward the end of the tunnel. We all follow him in silence.  
"What a jerk," Christina grumbles  
"I guess he doesn't like to be laughed at," Tris - Beatrice - murmurs.  
Tobias pushes open of a set of double doors and leads us into the Pit.  
_ "Whoa,"_ I think, feeling my eyes widen.  
"Oh, Christina whispers, "I get it."  
The Pit is aptly named. It is a gigantic underground cavern that, in comparison to the tunnel which made me feel claustrophobic, makes me feel small. Uneven stone walls rise several stories up, and built into them are places for clothing, food, supplies. The paths that connect them are made of stone as well and have no railings on the edges to keep people from falling off of them. Creating the Pit's roof are panes of glass that make up the floor of another building that lets sunlight in. Blue lanterns that look a lot like the ones from the Choosing Ceremony hang over the paths and they grow brighter as the sun sets.  
People dressed in black are everywhere, talking and shouting to each other. It's louder than anywhere else that I've been. I remember the rare times in Abnegation when Dad was in a good mood: quiet - often too quiet - and at times, forced and awkward. The scene in front of me is more appealing to me than my former Abnegation home.  
"If you follow me, I'll show you the chasm," Tobias says. He phrases it like a suggestion, though it clearly isn't one.  
He nods for us to follow and I study him as he leads us across the Pit. He's only grown a few inches in the past two years, but his height makes me feel short with my five-foot-one-inch stature. I didn't notice it at first, but there's a tattoo peeking out from the neckline of the black t-shirt he's wearing. He has a tattoo? When did he get it? I have a million questions that I want to ask him.  
He takes us across the Pit to an iron barrier that rises just above my waist. The floor drops off on the other side of the barrier at a steep angle. I look over it and see fast, white-capped water that battles with the rock and sprays my face with a mist.  
"The chasm reminds us that there is a fine line between bravery and idiocy!" My brother shouts over the roar of the water. "A daredevil jump off this ledge will end your life. It has happened before and it will happen again. You have been warned."  
"Wow," I say quietly. A few of the other initiates murmur curiously as we move away from the chasm.  
We're lead across the Pit again toward a gaping hole in the wall. The room on the other side is a dining hall full of Dauntless people and it's bigger than the cafeteria at school. When we walk in, the Dauntless people all stand and applaud. I smile.  
There's a mostly empty table at the side of the room that Tobias walks over and sits at. I sit on one side of him and Tris and Christina sit on the other side. In the middle of the table is a plate of food that I've never seen before: pieces of meat in the shape of circles and wedged between two circles of bread. I pick one up and examine it, holding it as if it's a bomb. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tris doing the same thing.  
"It's beef," Tobias says. He pushes a small bowl full of red sauce toward each of us.  
"You guys have never had a hamburger before?" Christina asks, looking at us like we're from another planet. I shake my head.  
"No," Tris says. "Is that what it's called?"  
"Stiffs eat plain food," Tobias says, nodding at Christina.  
"Why?" She asks.  
"Extravagance is considered self-indulgent and unnecessary," I explain.  
"No wonder you left." She smirks.  
Tris rolls her eyes. "Yeah. It was just because of the food."  
I snort. The edges of Tobias's lips twitch.  
The doors to the dining hall open and a silence falls over the room. A young man walks into the room. His dark hair is long and greasy-looking, like he hasn't washed it in days, and he has more face piercings than any other Dauntless that I've seen. He stops and scans the room and the iciness in his eyes makes me involuntarily shiver.  
"Who's that?" Christina asks in a quiet hiss.  
"His name is Eric," says Tobias. "He's a Dauntless leader."  
"Seriously? But he's so young."  
Tobias gives her a look. "Age doesn't matter here."  
Eric stops scanning the room and starts toward our table. I look down at my hamburger and occupy myself with putting the red sauce on it when Eric sits down next to me.  
"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" He asks Tobias.  
"This is Christina, Tris, and Lucille," Tobias says, gesturing to the three of us.  
"Ooh, Stiffs," He says, smirking at Tris and me. "We'll see how long you last."  
I open my mouth to tell him that I will last, but I quickly shut it. His smile tugs at the piercings in his lips and makes the holes that they're in bigger. I cringe and look down again. It looks both painful and scary at the same time. He taps his fingers against the table. His knuckles are scabbed over and look like they'll split if he clenches his hand into a fist.  
"What have you been doing lately, Four?" He asks in a casual manner.  
"Nothing, really," Tobias says. The way he sits - as tense and rigid as a steel beam, with the muscles in his arms noticeably tense - reminds me of when we both lived in Abnegation. He always sat this way around our father.  
"Max tells me he keeps trying to meet with you, and you don't show up," Eric says. "He requested that I find out what's going on with you."  
Tobias looks at Eric for a few seconds before talking. "Tell him that I am satisfied with the position I currently hold."  
"So he wants to give you a job." Eric is acting casual, but there's an undertone of jealousy in his voice. _"Why would he be jealous of my brother?"_ I wonder.  
"So it would seem."  
"And you aren't interested."  
"Tobias shakes his head, hiding frustration. "I haven't been interested for two years."  
"Well," Eric says, standing up. "Let's hope he gets the point, then."  
He pats Tobias on the shoulder, a little too roughly, and walks away. When he's gone, Tobias relaxes.  
"Are you two… friends?" Tris asks. I don't have to ask to know the answer, though - no, they are not friends. The way he was sitting made that clear.  
"We were in the same initiate class," he says. "He transferred from Erudite."  
"Were you a transfer too?"  
"I thought I would only have trouble with the Candor asking too many questions," He says, glancing at Tris. "Now I've got Stiffs, too?"  
"It must be because you're so approachable," Tris says flatly. "You know. Like a bed of nails."  
I cover a laugh with a cough, and then take a bite of my hamburger.  
They stare at each other. Then Tobias says, "Careful, Tris." A Dauntless person at another table calls out "Four!" Tobias slips a small piece of paper into my lap, then turns to see who called out his nickname. I look at the paper.  
_ Meet me at the dining hall at midnight. I'm glad to see you, Lucy. I missed you._  
A smile turns up my lips.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! Lucille has finally gotten to see Tobias! I was so happy when I got to this part! Please review!**


	5. Rules, Rankings, and a Reunion

**Disclaimer: I tried buying the copyrights of Divergent... I didn't get them. - sigh -**

* * *

Tobias vanishes after dinner without a word and leaves Eric to lead us down a series of dark hallways. Nobody told us to be quiet, but none of us speak. When Eric stops in front of a wooden door, we stop as well.

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Eric," He says, crossing his arms. "I am one of the five leaders of Dauntless. We take the initiation process very seriously here, so I will oversee most of your training."

The thought of Eric overseeing my initiation makes me shudder. I don't think I'd mind if it was another Dauntless leader overseeing our initiation, but Eric? I heard somewhere once that first impressions are everything and Eric creeped me out when I first saw him walk into the dining hall.

"Some ground rules," He says. "You have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation."

_Do whatever you like._ I feel my eyebrows rise at that. In Abnegation, you're not allowed to do what you want. You're supposed to always think of other people's needs before your own. I like to draw, but I left my drawing pad and colored pencils at home. I don't know what else I like to do.

"You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless," Eric continues. "Behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. In the first stage of initiation, we keep transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn't mean that you are evaluated separately. At the end of initiation, you're rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And they are better than you already. So I expect-"

"Rankings?" asks the same brown-haired Erudite girl who questioned Max on the roof earlier. "Why are we ranked?"

Eric smiles and the smile looks disturbing. "Your ranking serves two purposes," He replies. "The first is that it determines the order in which you will select a job after initiation. There are only a few _desirable_ positions available."

Uh-oh. This does not sound good.

"The second purpose," He says, "is that only the top ten initiates are made members."

I feel like I got punched in the gut. Only the top ten? What the hell? "What?" Christina asks with the disbelief that I'm sure everyone is feeling in her voice.

"There are eleven Dauntless-borns and ten of you," Eric continues. "Four initiates will be cut at the end of stage one. The remainder will be cut after the final test."

The elation I've been feeling about finally being able to leave Abnegation falters.

"What do we do if we're cut?" Peter asks.

Eric sounds completely indifferent as he answers the question. "You leave the Dauntless compound and live factionless."

The brown-haired girl slaps her hand over her mouth to suppress a sob. I have to force myself not to let the shock I feel show on my face. I remember my mother taking me and my brother with her one day to help feed the factionless not too long before she passed away. Being barely six-years-old at the time, I saw two factionless men start fighting. Before anyone could break them apart, one of them pulled a rusty switchblade and stabbed the other in the stomach. It terrified me. _"I can't live factionless,"_ I think. _"I just can't."_

"But that's… not fair!" Molly, the crooked-toothed Candor girl says. "If we had known-"

Eric cuts her off. "Are you saying that if you had known this before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?" He asks, sounding angry. "Because if that's the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."

Eric pushes the door to the dormitory open.

"You chose us. Now we have to choose you."

* * *

The hands on my watch read 11:49 p.m. I wait for them to read 11:50 before sitting up and swinging my legs over the edge of my bed. My brown curls fall into my face when I bend over to slide my sneakers on and I push them behind my ear.

There were stacks of clothing that the Dauntless provided for us were laying on each of the beds when we walked into the dormitory. After Eric left, most of the initiates changed into them. I put on the black pair of pants that were on my bed and took my outer shirt off, but I didn't change into the black shirt. I don't care if anyone sees me in my bra, but then I remembered the bruises on my stomach and the belt marks on my back. I couldn't let everyone see that.

I make sure all of the other initiates are fast asleep, and then I slip out of the dormitory, making sure the shut the door behind me.

The same blue lanterns that light the Pit are at the end of each hallway, but between them, it's dark and so I keep tripping on the uneven floor. The Pit is almost empty when I get there and the lanterns are dim. The dining hall looks different now that it's devoid of life. At dinnertime, it was loud and full of people and happy. Now, it's empty and quiet and eerie.

My watch reads 11:58. I sit at a table at the back of the room and drum my fingers against it. Two minutes later, at midnight exactly, Tobias enters the dining hall. It takes him a second to find me and when he does, I'm already out of my seat. He walks towards me and we meet each other in the middle of the room.

"Toby." A smile turns up my lips. "I… I missed you. So much."

Tobias smiles as well. Then he pulls me into a hug. "I missed you too, Lucy."

I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his chest._ He is safe. I am safe._ The sense of relief that overcomes me is nearly unbearable.

I don't know how long we just stand there and hug each other without saying anything. It could've been just a couple minutes; it could've been a couple hours. I don't know and I don't care.

Tobias is first to pull away, though when he does, it's with obvious reluctance. "How are you?" He asks, sitting down at a nearby table.

"Eh, okay." I shrug and sit down next to him. "What about you? You're here, so you've obviously survived initiation and it looks like the Dauntless mania hasn't taken your sanity."

He laughs. "I'm sane, or at least I think I am." I laugh. It feels good; especially after having haven't done so in a very long time.

"So… Four? What kind of a name is that?" I ask, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a nickname," He says. "I don't… I don't want anyone knowing… what… who I really am."

"I… understand," I say slowly. A silence that's deeper than words falls upon us. It takes a few minutes before I decide to change the subject. "So you're the instructor for the transfers…" I state.

He nods. "Max offered me the job a few weeks ago and I accepted it because I thought that if…" He trails off.

"If I was one of the transfers, you'd want to keep an eye on me?"

"Something like that." He shrugs. "Nobody knows that we're siblings, so don't expect me to treat you any different than the other initiates."

"I don't," I tell him. "Especially after the look you gave me in the tunnel."

A mischievous gleam appears in his eyes. "What look?" He asks, trying and failing to sound innocent.

I roll my eyes and push his shoulder. "Don't play dumb. That 'don't-you-even-think-about-saying-anything' look you gave me when you said your name is Four. And after you told Christina to keep her mouth shut."

"I was making sure you knew that I didn't want anyone knowing my real name."

"I think I figured that out when you helped me off the net and asked me what my name is, even though you already know it." I push his shoulder again and we both laugh.

"You should get back to the dormitory," Tobias says when we stop. "Don't want to be late for training tomorrow." He stands up.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be good." I stand as well.

Tobias places a hand on the small of my back - right on top of my healing scars. "Are you okay?" He asks when I wince.

"Yeah." I nod. "Dad was, um… particularly brutal yesterday and… um, this morning."

Tobias tenses up for a moment when I say 'dad'. "Let's just… call him Marcus now, okay?" He suggests. "I don't think he deserves to be called dad."

"Okay," I agree. He takes his hand from my back and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

The Pit, like the dining hall, is now completely devoid of life. Even though I tell him that he doesn't have to, Tobias walks with me back to the dormitory. When we get there, I push the door open just enough to pop my head in and look around.

"Everyone's still asleep," I say, shutting the door. "I should get to sleep, too."

Tobias nods.

I hesitate for a moment before pulling him into another hug. "I love you, Toby," I whisper.

"I love you too, Lucy," He whispers back.

I feel a few tears escape my closed eyes. When we pull away, he smiles at me and then walks away. I slip into the dormitory and make my way over to my bed. I slip my shoes off and, since everybody else is sleeping, change into the black Dauntless shirt. I fall asleep with a smile on my face, feeling the same sense of relief I did two years ago after Tobias left Abnegation.

_ I am safe._

_ I am safe._

* * *

**A/N: I know this chapter isn't that long, but this is the second chapter today and I'm still working on the next chapter. Let me know what y'all think!**


	6. Breaking Free

**A/N: I stayed up really late working on this chapter and then finished it just now. Hope y'all like it.**

**Disclaimer: I just found out that owning all three of the Divergent books does not mean that I own Divergent. I will now go mope in the corner with a bowl of ice cream.**

* * *

I stare at the box of hair dye, scrutinizing it. The box sits on a shelf with other boxes of hair dye in various colors. The color of dye I'm looking at is red - a bright, fiery red.

My watch says 7:29 a.m. I woke up about an hour ago. All the other initiates were still asleep so I went down to the girls' bathroom and took a nice, long shower, making sure to disinfect my scabbed-up back in the process. It was around seven o'clock when I entered the Pit, which was already buzzing with people. I stood near the chasm, watching people walk by for a good fifteen minutes before working up the courage to walk into one of the stores built into the rock walls.

And that's how I found myself staring at a box of hair dye. Each Dauntless member gets a number of points to spend each month and the dye costs one of them. I think about last night, about when I asked about Tobias's nickname, Four, and how he said that he didn't want anyone knowing that he's Marcus Eaton's son. I don't want anyone knowing that I'm Marcus Eaton's daughter, but I can't think of a nickname for myself. I pick up the red hair dye.

On my way out of the store, I spot a drawing pad and a package of colored pencils. I smirk and pick those up as well.

* * *

"The first thing you will learn today is how to shoot a gun. The second thing is how to win a fight. Thankfully, if you are here, you already know how to get on and off a moving train, so I don't need to teach you that." Tobias hands one initiate a gun and walks on to the next one. I stare at him when he walks to me and puts a gun into my hand, but he doesn't look at me.

_ "Nobody knows that we're siblings, so don't expect me to treat you any different than the other initiates."_ My talk with Tobias is still fresh in my mind. Last night, we were laughing and smiling and it was as if we haven't been apart for the past two years. Today is a completely different story however.

Today, we are not brother and sister. I am an initiate and Tobias isn't Toby - he is my instructor. He is Four.

"Initiation is divided into three stages. We will measure your progress and rank you according to your performance. The stages are not weighed equally in determining your final rank, so it is possible, though difficult, to drastically improve your rank over time."

I look at the gun in my hand and then at my brother. I have never held a gun in my life and, two years ago, Tobias hadn't either. He passed the guns out casually, as if they were textbooks, like the ones my teachers passed out during school last year. The weapon in my hand scares me. It makes me feel as if, just by touching it, I could severely hurt someone.

"We believe that preparation eradicates cowardice, which we define as the failure to act in the midst of fear," Tobias says. "Therefore each stage of initiation is intended to prepare you in a different way. The first stage is primarily physical; the second, primarily emotional; the third, primarily mental."

Peter yawns, acting as if the gun in his hand isn't a dangerous weapon. "But what… What does firing a gun have to do with… bravery?"

Tobias has one gun left. He flips it in his hand, presses the barrel to Peter's forehead and clicks a bullet into place. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't find the look on Peter's face a little funny.

"Wake. Up." Tobias snaps in a voice I never heard him use before. "You are holding a loaded gun, you idiot. Act like it."

The room is silent enough that you could hear a pin drop. Tobias lowers the gun and Peter glares at him, his green eyes hard and more awake now.

"And to answer your question… you are far less likely to soil your pants and cry for your mother if you're prepared to defend yourself." Tobias casually walks to the end of the row and turns on his heel, like nothing happened. "This is also information you may need later in stage one. So, watch me."

He faces the wall with ten pieces of plywood with three red circles painted on them - targets. He stands tall and straight, with his feet spread apart and his gun held firmly between his hands. Then he fires and the bang makes me flinch. A small hole appears in the middle circle, showing where the bullet went.

Who is this person? He definitely isn't my brother.

I wipe my palms - which are all sweaty - on my pants and turn to face my own target. I grip my gun firmly with both hands and go to squeeze trigger, but before I can, the bang of another gun going off makes me jump and drop my gun. Embarrassment fills me as I quickly retrieve it.

Peter - who's standing near me and whose target is next to mine - laughs. "Afraid of the gun, Stiff? Are you sure you belong in Dauntless?"

"Shut up," I say, feeling my cheeks burn._ Stupid, stupid, stupid. I can't believe I just did that!_

I face my target again and wrap my hands around the gun again. Two more gunshots go off, but they don't make me jump this time. Both of my index fingers squeeze the trigger. A hole appears in the wall next to my target. The bang hurts my ears and the recoil jerks my hands back, making me smack myself in the nose.

It takes a couple tries before I can keep the gun from hitting me when it recoils and another couple tries before I manage to hit the target. Within the first half hour, I manage to hit the center of the target. A feeling of accomplishment fills me.

Tobias dismisses us for lunch four hours later at noon. While all the other initiates exit the room, I stay and fire three more shots. Two of them hit the center of the target.

"Lucille," Tobias says when I set the gun down. My eyes meet his for a moment, and then shoot to the door. Everyone else has left. I glance at him again. "Don't be afraid of the gun," He tells me. "It's not going to hurt you unless you act stupid and purposely point it at yourself."

My cheeks warm with embarrassment. "Okay." I turn and walk to the doorway.

"Also," He adds. I freeze in mid-step. "I saw you with that hair dye this morning…" I look over my shoulder at Tobias. He is wearing a wicked grin. "Do it."

The embarrassment quickly vanishes. I grin back at him. "Alright." Then I leave.

Five minutes later, I'm sitting at a table in the dining room with Tris, Christina, and another Candor transfer named Al.

"Okay, I understand if you don't remember me, but Christina?" I stare at Al in disbelief. "How could you _not_ remember _her_?"

"I just don't, okay?" Al says. "I don't remember either of you."

"Oh, come on," Christina says to Al as she makes a sandwich. "You don't remember me? We were in Math together just a few _days_ ago. And I am _not_ a quiet person."

"Yeah!" I agree.

"I slept through Math most of the time," Al responds. "It was first hour!"

"What about you?" Christina asks Tris. "Do you remember?" Tris doesn't reply; she just stares into space. Christina snaps her fingers in front of Tris's face. "Tris! You in there?"

Tris jumps, obviously startled. "What? What is it?"

"I asked if you ever remember taking a class with me," Christina says. "I mean, no offense, but I probably wouldn't remember if you did. All the Abnegation looked the same to me. I mean, they still do, but now you're not one of them."

Tris and I both stare at her. I don't think I've ever heard someone say something so bluntly in my entire life.

"Sorry, am I being rude?" asks Christina. "I'm used to just saying whatever is on my mind. Mom used to say that politeness is deception in pretty packaging."

Tris gives a short laugh. "I think that's why our factions don't usually associate with each other," She says. I smirk.

Will, an Erudite transfer with shaggy blond hair, comes up to our table. "Can I sit here?" He asks, tapping the table with his finger.

Christina gives him a look and says, "What, you don't want to hang out with your Erudite buddies?"

"They aren't my buddies," Will says, setting his plate down. "Just because we were in the same faction doesn't mean we get along. Plus, Edward and Myra are dating, and I would rather not be the third wheel."

I glance at Edward and Myra, the other Erudite transfers, who are sitting two tables away. Myra pauses in cutting her food to kiss Edward. I look away. I've never really seen anyone kiss before, not even my own parents.

"Do they have to be so _public_?" I say, making a face.

"She just kissed him." Al frowns. "It's not like they're stripping naked."

"A kiss isn't something you should do in public," Tris says, agreeing with me.

Christina, Al, and Will all give us the same look. "What?" Tris and I say at the same time.

"Your Abnegation is showing," says Christina. "The rest of us are okay with a little affection in public.

Tris shrugs. "Oh. Well… I guess we'll have to get over it, then." I nod.

Will grins and his green eyes flash with mischief. "Or you can stay frigid. You know. If you want."

Christina throws a roll at him. He catches it and bites it. "Don't be mean to them," She says. "Frigidity is in their nature. Sort of like being a know-it-all is in yours."

My cheeks heat up at the comment. "I am not frigid!" Tris exclaims, her face turning red as well..

"Don't worry about it," Will says. "It's endearing. Look, you're all red."

Everyone laughs as Tris's face gets even redder, if that's possible, and my cheeks heat up more. Then, after a minute, we both laugh as well.

In Abnegation, Marcus never really let me or Tobias out, always saying that we'd embarrass him if he let us out in public. It was almost always just me and my brother at home, so neither of us had any friends. Dauntless initiation has just started and I've already made four friends. If I had a choice between going back to Abnegation and staying here in Dauntless, I would decide to stay without a second thought.

* * *

After lunch, Tobias takes us to a new room. It's giant, with a large circle painted in the center of the wood floor. A green chalkboard on the left wall has our names written on it in alphabetical order. On the other side of the room, black punching bags hang at three-foot intervals.

We line up behind them and Tobias stands in the middle, where we all can see him.

"As I said this morning," He says, "next you will learn how to fight. The purpose of this is to prepare you to act; to prepare your body to respond to threats and challenge - which you will need, if you intend to survive life as a Dauntless."

Survive life as a Dauntless? I can't even imagine what life as a Dauntless is like. What was Tobias thinking when he chose this faction?

"We will go over technique today, and tomorrow you will start to fight each other," Tobias continues. "So I recommend that you pay attention. Those who don't learn fast will get hurt."

Tobias names a few basic punches and kicks, and then demonstrates them, first against the air, and then against the punching bag.

This is easier than firing the gun, much easier. I guess twelve years of abuse sort of prepared me for it. Hitting the tough fabric of the punching bag hurts my hands and feet, but I ignore the sting.

"Use your knees and elbows." I glance up and see Tobias watching me. "You're small, so you don't have a lot of muscle. You can put more power behind your knees and elbows."

I nod, wiping sweat off my forehead. Then I ram my elbow into the punching bag. It shifts, not as much, but more than when I was using my fists. I glance up again and see that Tobias has moved on.

When Tobias dismisses us, I am sore and sweaty all over. Wondering what good that shower I took this morning did, I walk toward the girls' bathroom, then stop. The hair dye. I shoved it in one of the drawers under my bed before training. I'm about to start towards the dormitory when someone calls out, "Lucille!"

I turn around and see Will and Al walking my way. "Yeah?"

"Wanna get tattooed?" Al asks, sounding eager.

I smile. "Um… sure?" I reply, silently telling myself that I'll dye my hair later. "What are you gonna get?"

"I don't know," Al says.

"What about a spider?" Will suggests.

The way to the Pit is spent deciding on what tattoos we're going to get. When we walk into the tattoo parlor, Al has decided to get a spider. As a skinny man covered in tattoos begins to draw a spider on his forearm, I walk around the room, looking at all the art on the walls. I spent sixteen years in a sea of gray; the only real color I saw at home was in our food and my color pencils. There is not a blank space on any of the walls in this room - there is art everywhere. I vaguely notice Tris and Christina come in and I see them get tattooed as well, but my attention is fixed on the art. It's amazing in here.

I stop at a picture that's a cluster of swirls. It reminds me of the wind and I smile. My mother used to pretend to make stuff out of the wind for my brother and me. Swords, kites, jump ropes. One time she made two guitars out of the wind and I made Tobias play and sing a song with me. My mom laughed as we sang and made the words up as we went along. At the end, she clapped and we bowed. I don't have a lot of favorite memories, but that is one of them.

I carefully take the picture from the wall and turn to find someone so I get this tattooed on me. The man who drew Al's tattoo offers to do mine. "Where do you want it?" He asks.

I think about it for a moment. "Here." I touch the top of my back. That's where a lot of my scars begin. I never want to see those scars ever again.

"That's right on the bone," He tells me. "It'll hurt like hell if I do there. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," I say without hesitation.

The tattoo needle stings, but it doesn't hurt _that_ bad, even when I feel it on my spine. Nothing can hurt worse than being struck multiple times with a belt every day. When he's done, I thank him and then leave.

The dormitory is empty when I get to it, probably because it's time for dinner. I retrieve the box of hair dye from where I put it in one of the draws under my bed, then go to the girls' bathroom.

* * *

**A/N: How did y'all like that? Oh, and I've gotta say thanks to HeartOfGold7 for pointing out a repeating scene in Chapter Four. That chapter has been edited and does not have any more repeating scenes now. And this one does not either.**


	7. Red

**A/N: Whew! I have been working my butt off for the past two days writing this chapter! I thought I wouldn't finish it tonight! Before you go on to the disclaimer, I'd like to thank HeartofGold7 for her great support!**

**Disclaimer: Alas, it is St. Patty's day and I still do not own Divergent or an Irish accent.**

* * *

I stare at the chalkboard on the other side of the room, trying to shake the antsy feeling inside of me. There is one row of five names on the green board with another row next to it. I knew Tobias wasn't kidding when he said we would start to fight each other today, but I kind of wish he had been.

Eric didn't see over our training yesterday - something I'm grateful for, because I have a feeling it would have been really bad if he had seen me fumbling with the gun - but he is here today. Him and Tobias stand by the wall, just a few feet away from me, and watch the fights.

Al and Will circle each in the ring; their fight is first. I don't want to watch, but I feel like I probably should. - it may help with my own fight. Al punches Will in the jaw and he staggers, one hand pressed to the side of his mouth. Al punches again and Will blocks it, wincing. It looks like blocking the punch was as painful as a the punch itself.

I glance over at Eric and Tobias. Eric is twisting one of the rings in his lip and watching the fight with a sick grin. Tobias's mouth is pressed into a thin line and his eyes bear a blank expression. He is not calm - I can easily make out the stiffness in his shoulders and the muscles in his arms are rigid as he folds them over his chest.

In the arena, Will hooks a foot around Al's left leg and jerks backwards, causing Al to go down. Al clambers to get back on his feet. They circle each other for a few seconds, both sweaty and panting.

Eric checks his watch, and then shouts, "Do you think this is a leisure activity? Should we break for naptime? Fight each other!"

"But…" Al lets his hands down. "Is it scored or something? When does the fight end?"

"It ends when one of you is unable to continue," Eric says.

"According to Dauntless rules, one of you could also concede," says Tobias.

"According to the _old_ rules." Eric narrows his eyes at Tobias. "In the _new_ rules, no one concedes."

Tobias raises an eyebrow at him and the muscles in his arms and shoulders become even more rigid, if that's possible. "A brave man acknowledges the strength of others," He replies.

"A brave man never surrenders."

Tobias and Eric stare at each other for a few seconds. The tension in the room is thick enough that you could slice it with a butter knife.

Al wipes sweat of his face with the back of his hand and shakes his head. "This is ridiculous! What's the point of beating him up? We're in the same faction!"

"Oh, you think it's going to be that easy?" Will grins. "Go on. Try to hit me, slowpoke."

Will puts his hands up again. Al tries to punch him, but Will ducks before Al's fist can connect with his temple. Will hooks a leg around Al's left leg and jerks it back, sending Al to the ground. Al hurriedly clambers to get back on his feet. Will attempts to kick Al in the side, but Al blocks the kick with his thick arm. Al rushes at Will, grasps his arm and punches him in the jaw. Hard.

The light immediately leaves Will's green eyes and they roll back into him head. The tension leaves his body. His arm slips out of Al's grip and he drops to the floor.

Al's eyes widen in shock and he kneels next to Will, gently tapping his cheek. All noise is the room comes to a standstill. For a few moments, Will doesn't respond - he just lays on the floor with an arm twisted behind his back in an awkward position. Then he blinks and groans.

"Get him up," Eric says. The greedy hunger in his eyes and the malicious curl of his lip makes me look away.

Tobias goes up to the chalkboard and circles Al's name.

"Next up - Molly and Christina!" Eric shouts. Al draws one of Will's arms across his broad shoulders and hauls him out of the arena.

While Christina and Molly enter the ring, Tobias props Will up by the waist and leads him out of the room. As I watch them leave, the edgy feeling from earlier comes back full force.

Damn you, Tobias! Damn you!

Leaving us with Eric is like feeding us to the wolves. My brother can be scary at times - like when he pressed that gun to Peter's head yesterday - but Eric is worse, way worse. He reminds me of Marcus in way, which is not a good thing.

As I'm silently swearing my brother out and thinking of the things I am going to say to him the next time we're alone, the fight has already begun. Christina kicks Molly in the side, causing her to grit her teeth and gasp. Molly recovers quickly and then, without warning, lunges with her hands extended out at Christina's midsection. She knocks her to the ground hard and pins her down.

Molly punches, but Christina moves her head out of the way and Molly's fist strikes the wood floor. She tries again, and again, and again until she manages to hit Christina's nose, jaw, and mouth. Blood starting flowing from her nose; it's probably broken. I stumble back in horror and hit the wall. _Please let the fight end soon._

The next couple of minutes are agonizing. Christina is able to get one of her arms free and punch Molly, knocking her off-balance, and twists out from beneath her. Blood is smeared across her face and is still gushing from her nose.

Molly kicks Christina in the side, knocking her onto the floor again. I cringe. Christina clutches her ribcage and tries to crawl away.

"Stop!" She wails as Molly goes to kick her again. "Stop! I'm…" She coughs. "I'm done."

Molly smirks and I release a breath I didn't know I had been holding in.

Eric walks towards Christina and stands over her with his arms folded. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" He asks in a quiet voice. "You're done?"

Christina thrusts herself to her knees. Her hand leaves a red print on the ground when she lifts it up and pinches her nose to stop the bleeding. She nods. "Get up," He says, still using that quiet voice. My stomach drops. Tobias voice is naturally quiet - acquired after growing up in an Abnegation house with an abusive father - but Eric's is not, and that's what scares me. He's planning something.

He takes hold of Christina's arm, wrenches her to her feet and drags her out the door. "Follow me," He says to the rest of us.

* * *

Eric takes us to the chasm. There are almost no people in the Pit, although it is mid-afternoon.

He shoves Christina against the railing. "Climb over it," He tells her.

"What?" She says, the disbelief clear in her voice.

"Climb over the railing," He repeats, pronouncing the words slowly. "If you can hang over the chasm for five minutes, I will forget your cowardice. If you can't, I will not allow you to continue initiation."

I feel like I am frozen in place. Hang over the chasm for five minute? The railing in front of it is thin and made of metal and covered in the spray from the river. I look over the railing and gulp - the river is several stories below us. Is Eric trying to kill Christina?

"Fine," She says shakily.

She swings one long leg over the railing and puts her toe on the ledge as she raises her other leg over. She wipes her hands on her pants and holds onto the railing so hard that her knuckles turn white. My stomach drops when she steps off the ledge.

Al sets his watch.

At first, Christina is fine. Her grip around the railing stays strong and her arms stay steady. But then the river strikes the wall and its spray hits Christina's back. Her hands slip. I jump when her face bangs against one of the bars and I consciously grab Al's hand.

I glance at Eric. He's watching Christina with a look of cruel pleasure. Disgust fills me. I don't know how somebody can make someone do something like this.

Another wave of water crashes into the wall and the spray covers her body again. Christina's voice is louder than the river when she cries out. Her hands slip again and one of them falls off the railing.

My eyes widen. _"Don't fall, don't fall, don't fall,"_ I chant over and over in my head. I'm not normally the one to pray - since just about all of my prayers have never been answered - but right now I pray really hard that Christina can hold on for the last two minutes.

"Come on, Christina," Al says. She looks up at him. "Come, grab it again. You can do it."

Eric glances at Al, but doesn't say anything. I wish I could give her words of encouragement, too, but my mouth won't open for me to do so. Al keeps encouraging her and Tris eventually starts to as well.

"Come on, " Tris says. "One minute left." I give Christina what I hope is an encouraging look.

"Come on," Al and Tris say at the same time.

A third wave of water hits Christina. She screams as both her hands slip off the railing. Tris and I both shriek. _No! No! No!_

But she manages to grab the very bottom of the railing. I cannot see her head anymore, only her hands.

Thankfully, Al's watch beeps, signaling that the five minutes have passed.

"Five minutes are up," He says, spitting the words at Eric.

Eric decides to check his own watch. My heart pounds painfully as he takes his time doing so and I want to yell at him to let Christina come up.

"Fine," He finally says. "You can come up, Christina."

I let go of Al's hand as he walks toward the railing.

"No," Eric tells him. "She has to do it on her own."

"No, she doesn't," Al growls. "She did what you said. She's not a coward. She did what you said."

Eric doesn't say anything in reply. Al reaches over the railing and grabs Christina's wrist. She grabs Al's forearm and Al pulls her up, his face red with frustration. Tris grabs Christina under the shoulder once she's high enough and the two of them haul her over the railing. Christina collapses to the floor, her back soaking and blood still smeared across her face.

I look at Eric again and frown. He is wearing a sick and malicious grin.

* * *

Four is in the training room when we get back. He is standing by the chalkboard. When we walk into the training room, he looks up with a blank expression on his face. He glances at Christina, then at me. I glare at him, hoping he knows how mad I am at him for leaving us alone with Eric.

While Eric goes up to the chalkboard and circles Molly's name, Tobias calls out, "Myra! Red! In the arena!"

A few people look at me. I'm the only initiate with bright red hair. My cheeks warm up a little, yet I have to hold back a smile at the nickname.

I study her as she puts her hands up. She has mousy hair pulled back into a ponytail and hazel eyes that give up how nervous she is. I don't know why she's nervous though - she is at least five inches taller than I am and more filled in.

Myra's first punch is weak and hesitant. I block the punch and it doesn't even hurt when it hits my forearm. The fight doesn't last very long - only about two minutes or so. Myra's kicks and punches aren't very strong so they're easy to block. I get a couple good punches in and elbow her in the stomach. Myra falls down and the claims that she is too dizzy to get back up.

When Tobias turns to the chalkboard, I notice my name has changed. It is not "Lucille" anymore. My name is "Red." I smile as Eric shouts out the next match.

Red.

I like the sound of it.


	8. Early Birds

**-this author's humor was used up in the process of writing this chapter-**

* * *

It is midnight again. The dining hall is devoid of people, just like it was the first night. I sit at a table in the very far corner, staring at the drawing pad in front of me. The drawing pad is open to the first page, but there are no pictures on it yet.

Images of Christina hanging over the chasm flash through my mind. I try to shake them, but every time I think that they are gone, they come back. The frozenness that kept me from moving after Eric hold to Christina that she had to hang over the chasm or be kicked out was a terrifyingly familiar sensation - it's the same sensation that often came over me whenever Marcus would get his belt out. It would keep me from moving, from making any sounds when he struck me. It comes over me and makes me feel helpless.

Movement catches my eye and I look up. Tobias walks into the dining hall and starts toward me. I look back at my drawing pad, still mad at him for leaving us with Eric yet I feel like I need to talk to him. I don't know whether to ignore him or say something to him.

"You got a drawing pad," Tobias says, sitting next to me.

I nod, not really sure what to say.

"I knew you would." He turns so he's facing me. "Nobody could take you away from your drawing."

His comment makes me a smile a little. That is true. I search through my box of pencils, though I'm not sure which color I'm looking for.

Tobias places a hand on my shoulder. "What's wrong, Lucy?" He asks. When I open my mouth to answer, he adds, "And don't lie. You're a terrible liar."

"I wasn't going to lie," I mutter. "I'm mad at you, Toby."

His eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Why?"

"You left us alone with Eric," I say, glaring at him, "and he showed us what'll happen if we concede during a fight." I tell him what happened when after he left with Will. Christina and Molly's fight, Christina trying to concede, and Eric making her hang from the chasm for five minutes.

"Is it supposed to be like that? Make an initiate hang over the chasm when if they try to forfeit from a fight?"

"No." Tobias shakes his head. "It's not." His hand falls from my shoulder.

I drop the pencil I just picked up back into the box and stare at him. His eyebrows are knitted together and he is frowning. "I can't do anything about it," He says, trying and failing to hide the frustration in his voice.

"I figured." I shrug. "Too late to do anything about it anyway."

He nods in agreement. Then he takes one of the loose curls framing my face and twirls it around his finger. "Red hair is very befitting on you, _Red_," He says, changing the subject.

"Thank you, _Four_," I reply. An idea pops into my head. I pick up a silver pencil and color a small spot on the front cover to see if it's the right shade. No, too dark. I pick up another silver pencil. "How did you get that nickname anyway?"

"I'll tell you when you get to stage two," He says.

I color another spot on the cover, then start sketching the outline of a train on the front page. "You mean _if_?" If Tobias is one of the instructors, then he definitely knows about the rankings and cuts.

"_When_," He corrects me. "You're going to make it."

I look up at him and we stare at each other for a couple minutes. He sounds confident, but I am not so sure. If I wasn't even able to stand up to Marcus, how will I be able to make it here? Where nobody has a problem standing up to someone?

"The fights will continue until Visiting Day," Tobias tells me. "And stage two begins after Visiting Day." The corners of his mouth lift slightly. "And you did pretty good with your first fight."

I smile a little. "Well, it wasn't that hard. Myra's punches and kicks were weak and she'd let her guard down whenever she'd go to hit me." Tobias gives me a look. "What?" I say.

"You tend to underestimate yourself, Lucy." He gets up and pats my shoulder. "I'll see you in training."

I watch Tobias as he walks away. Underestimate myself? I don't underestimate myself.

Do I?

* * *

I wake up before any of the other initiates for the third time in a row. A quick glance at my watch has me pressing my face into my pillow and groaning. Six in the morning.

I attempt to go back to sleep, but give up after ten minutes of tossing and turning. I toss on a pair of black leggings and a black tank top that hugs my torso and shows off my tattoo, and braid my hair. After grabbing a blueberry muffin from the dining hall, I go to the training room, deciding to get some practice in before training starts.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see the lights on and my brother standing near the chalkboard when I walk into the training room - he is the instructor after all - but I almost turn around and leave when I see him. His statement of me underestimating myself left questions in my head that kept me awake for a good half hour before being able to fall asleep last night.

"Good morning," Tobias says. His blue eyes flick up to meet mine for a quick second, then flick down towards the floor.

"Good morning," I say back.

The left side of his mouth lifts in a half-smile. "Glad I'm not the only one who still gets up when nobody should be awake.'

I laugh. "You still do that? It's been two years, Toby." We used to get up early, when Marcus was still asleep, and help clean each other's back. Often we would joke around at that time, laughing at the fact that we were the only siblings in Abnegation who were comfortable with being a little "un-modest" around each other.

"Why else would I be up?" He asks with a casualness that I haven't heard him use in two years.

"I don't know. To get ready for the next round of initiate-torture?" I pop the last of my blueberry muffin into my mouth and toss its wrapper into a trashcan near the door.

"The only thing I have to do is decide who's fighting who and write it on the board." He raps his fingers on the chalkboard. "And it takes me less than five minutes to do that."

"Oh." I look at the floor.

"You're here to practice, aren't you?" He guesses.

"Yeah." I nod.

He smirks. "You underestimate yourself. A lot."

My cheeks heat up. "Quit saying that!" I exclaim. "I do not underestimate myself!"

"Yeah, you do." Tobias walks into the arena and put his hands up in a fighting position. "Shut the door and come here," He says in his instructor voice.

I don't question him. I shut the door and walk into the arena. He gestures for me to get into a fighting stance as well. "Okay, now what?" I ask, putting my hands up.

He raises his hands higher, so that they're in front of his face. "What's wrong with my position?" He asks.

Well, that's easy to figure out. I step forward and slam my fist into his chest. It feels weird to hit my brother, even though it obviously doesn't hurt him. "Your hands are too high up," I tell him. "They protect you face, but not your torso." I punch him again, this time hitting his stomach.

"Good," He says, nodding approvingly. "What about now?" His right fist flicks out and, at the same time, he drops his left fist.

I block his punch with my forearm and kick him in the side. "You let your guard down when you went to punch."

"You have an eye for finding people's weak spots," He says. "And you're fast. And you know how to push through pain." He grabs my left wrist and squeeze tightly. Too tightly. I smash my right forearm into his elbow. He lets go of my arm and I move backwards fast so he can't grab me again.

Our fight lasts about fifteen minutes. It ends when I hook my foot around his leg and yank it out from underneath him. He falls backward onto the wood floor and I quickly put my foot on his chest so he can't get up.

"That was too easy," I say, giving my brother a look. "You let me win!" I accuse him.

He shakes his head. "No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did," I insist.

"I didn't." He tries to sit up, but I keep him pinned to the floor with my foot. "Help me up and I'll show you."

He holds his hand out. I don't hesitate to take my foot off of his chest and grasp his hand. I try to pull him up, but he is heavy. Suddenly, he yanks hard on my hand and my feet fly out from underneath me.

He scrambles to his feet and grins triumphantly. "See? I didn't let you win."

I roll my eyes and push myself into a sitting position. "That was cheating."

"No, it wasn't." He shakes his head, still grinning.

"Oh, yeah?" I stand up. "Explain to me how that _wasn't_ cheating."

"All's fair during a fight." He shrugs. "Besides, if I was going to cheat I would've done this-" He is behind me in a flash and he picks me up by my waist -"when you turned and elbowed me in the stomach."

I shriek in surprise when I feel my feet leave the ground. "Damn you!" I erupt into laughter when he spins around with me in his arms.

When Tobias sets me back down, I'm laughing so hard that I have to place my hands on my knees to keep from falling down. I turn around and see Tobias laughing as well.

When our laughing fit subsides, I back up until my back hits the nearest wall and I wipe my watery eyes. "You're horrible, Toby," I say, struggling to catch my breath.

"But you still love me, Lucy," He points out with a grin.

"You're my brother _and_ my initiation instructor," I say. "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope."

A smile turns up my lips. I go to say something, but abruptly stop when I hear the creak of the door.

I look up and Tobias turns around as the door slowly opens and…

Eric walks in.


	9. Caught

**A/N: Hey, you guys! I am so sorry that I haven't updated in about two weeks! I decided to do Camp Nanowrimo and I started it a day late and I am also revising my other stories. I'll try to update as much as I can, though!**

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The playful atmosphere in the room immediately vanishes. Taking its place is a tension so thick that you could slice through it with a knife.

My heart leaps into my throat and beats painfully as I stand up straight. Tobias goes completely rigid. The smiles and laughter are gone.

Eric pauses mid-step when he sees us. Shock glints in his dark eyes as he looks at Tobias, then at me.

"What's going on here?" Eric asks.

"Red came in to practice before training starts and I offered to help her," Tobias replies in an almost casual manner. If anyone were to come in at this exact moment, they would have no idea that Tobias and I were nearly caught goofing around.

"Ah." Eric nods and shuts the door behind him. "What was that laughing I heard about then?" He asks.

Crap!

My eyes widen. He heard us laughing? I force a blank expression on my face. "That was me," I say. "I was laughing because I took Four down and I couldn't believe that I did." That is partially true. I _did_ take Tobias (a.k.a. Four) down and I couldn't believe it, but I _wasn't_ laughing when I did that.

His eyes widen in disbelief. He nods toward my brother. "You took _Four_ down?"

"Yes," I say. Tobias nods in agreement.

The look that flashes across his face for a brief moment is almost humorous. When he regains his composure, he leans against the wall next to the door.

"What?" I ask. "Is it against the rules for an initiate to practice before training?"

"No." He shakes his head, but doesn't say anything else.

I want to ask why he's just standing there, doing nothing, but don't. He is a Dauntless leader, but it's a little creepy that he's staring at me. Instead I flick my braid over my shoulder and turn to Tobias. "Can we go again?" I ask, walking back into the arena.

"Sure." Tobias puts his hands up. He is still very tense - like if somebody just tapped him on the shoulder, he would snap - but his eyes glint with relief. He thinks - or I hope he thinks - that Eric believed me.

We circle each other. _"Don't let me win this time,"_ I mouth to him when my back is turned to Eric.

_"I don't plan on it,"_ He mouths back. His lips are pressed into thin, emotionless line, but a smirk sparkles in his eyes.

Eric made it sound like taking my brother down was such a big deal, especially for an initiate, and Tobias said that they were in the same initiate class. Did Tobias take Eric down during their initiation? What was his rank?

I study him for a few moments. Tobias's form is almost perfect. _Almost._ It takes a few moments for me to notice, but I see a gap in his guard. One fist is held up near his chin and the other is in front of his chest. There is a space between his arms that extends to his stomach. Bingo.

I reach out and strike the area where his ribs end and his stomach begins. He groans quietly - a sound that is both music and torture to my ears - and goes to punch me. I wince when I block the it - his punches are pretty strong - and then step back quickly to avoid the kick aimed at my midsection.

This fight is harder than the last one - proof that he _did_ go easy on me during our first one - but despite its difficulty, it ends the same way. I manage to hook my foot around the back of his knee and yank his leg out from underneath him. He lands on the floor with a wooden _bang!_ I put my foot on his chest to keep him from getting up again.

"Looks like you've met your match, Four," Eric comments as Tobias gets up. "And from _Abnegation transfer_ of all people." I glance at Eric and see him twisting one of the rings in his lip while staring at both of us.

"Are you going to quit underestimating the transfers now?" Tobias asks in a bored voice.

"I might have to," He replies.

I wipe the sweat off my forehead and start for the door, hoping to take a quick shower before the other transfers get up. I don't feel like explaining to anyone why I was in the training room practicing when I didn't have to. I am turning the doorknob when I feel a hand on my arm. My first instinct is to smack it away - a reaction I'd occasionally have when Marcus would grab my arm - but I resist it and instead look up. It's Eric. My stomach churns.

"Nice job," He tells me.

I nod and murmur something along the lines of "thank you" and then flee the room. A couple other initiates are up, but none of them pay attention to me - probably due to the fact that they're still in the process of waking up - when I go into the girls' bathroom.

I spend a good twenty minutes washing away the feeling of Eric's calloused fingers on my upper arm and trying to forget the malicious hunger that shone in his eyes when he looked at me.

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** A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. The one thing I really want/need to know if I got Eric's personality right. Please let me know if I did or didn't!**


	10. Confidence

**A/N: Hey everybody! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in over a month. I've had writer's block, then I moved and I didn't have internet, but now I should be able to update more often. This chapter is a long one and - to make it even better - it's entirely from Four's POV. One of my readers pointed out a part of the plot in the last two chapters that was a little confusing for people to follow, so I wrote a chapter from Four's POV during the scenes in the last two chapters to hopefully clear it up.**

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**Four's POV**

It's strange seeing Lucille with red hair. Even though I know that it's her way of making people forget who she really is, that doesn't make it seem any less strange.

I spot my sister sitting at a table in the far corner of the dining hall after midnight. At first it looks like she is staring at the table, but I when I move closer, I see she is staring at a drawing pad. I smirk - Lucille and her drawing. That is the one thing that'll never change about her. She looks up when I walk into the dining hall, then looks back down.

I sit next to her. "You got a drawing pad."

She nods, but doesn't say anything.

"I knew you would," I say. "Nobody could take you away from your drawing."

The corners of her mouth lift up little, but she still doesn't say anything. When she starts rummaging through her pencil box, I frown. Something is wrong - she is never this quiet.

I touch her shoulder. "What's wrong, Lucy?" I ask, then quickly add, "And don't lie. You're a terrible liar."

"I wasn't going to lie," Lucille mumbles, looking at her drawing pad again. "I'm mad at you, Toby."

Something is definitely wrong. "Why?"

She looks up at me with a glare that could melt ice. "You left us alone with Eric and he showed us what'll happen if we concede during a fight." As she explains what happened after I took Will to the infirmary, I feel both angry and unsurprised. Angry at what Eric did, yet I'm not surprised that he did it. "Is it supposed to be like that?" Lucille asks. "Make an initiate over the chasm if they try to forfeit from a fight?"

I shake my head and frown. "No, it's not." I let my hand drop from her shoulder. She drops the pencil she picked up and looks at me. "I can't do anything about it," I say with an unsuccessful attempt at hiding the frustration in my voice.

"I figured." She shrugs. "Too late to do anything about it anyway."

I nod. As much as I wanted to change what had happened, it was too late. Deciding to change the subject, I take one of the curls that had fallen into her face and twist it around my finger. "Red hair is very befitting on you, Red," I say, using her nickname.

"Thank you, Four." She picks up a silver pencil and colors a small spot on the front color of her drawing pad, then drops it back into the box and picks up another silver pencil. "How did you get that nickname anyway?" She asks curiously.

"I'll tell you when you get to stage two," I reply. I had decided before the day of the aptitude tests to wait until after the fear simulations started before telling her how I got my nickname.

"You mean if?" She colors another spot on the front cover with the new pencil, then flips her drawing pad to the first page and starts sketching something.

If? I shake my head when she isn't paying attention. She is underestimating herself. "_When_," I tell her. "You're going to make it."

She sets her pencil down and stares at me. I stare back. Her confidence is obviously faltering. I understand why - I went through the same thing during the first stage of initiation. Because of _him_.

"The fights will continue until after Visiting Day." I hold her gaze as I speak. "And stage two begins after Visiting Day." I can't help smiling a little. "And you did pretty good with your first fight."

She smiles a little in return. "Well, it wasn't that hard," She says. "Myra's punches and kicks were weak and she'd let her guard down whenever she'd go to hit me." I raise an eyebrow at her. "What?" She asks.

"You tend to underestimate yourself, Lucy." I stand up and pat her shoulder. "I'll see you in training."

Her eyes burn a hole in my back as I walk out of the cafeteria. When I'm halfway across the Pit, I glance over my shoulder. Lucille has a pencil perched between her fingers and is looking at it in a contemplating manner. Thinking about what I said.

I pull a black case containing a syringe out of my back pocket and walk up the path that leads into the Pire.

* * *

The little red numbers on my alarm clock flash 5:30 a.m. when I wake up. I groan and place a pillow over my face, hoping to get at least another half hour of sleep before having to wake up, but it quickly becomes obvious that that's not going to happen. With another groan, I toss the pillow to the side, then get out of bed and walk into the bathroom.

After a cold shower, I go to the training room. I don't know why I head to the training room - for some reason, I'm just compelled to do so. Not even five minutes after turning on the lights, Lucille walks in, her hair braided and a half-eaten muffin in her hand. Lucille pauses when she sees me and looks like she's about to turn around and walk out the door.

"Good morning," I say quickly. I meet her eyes for a split-second, then I look at the floor.

"Good morning," She says back and takes a bite of her muffin.

The left side of my mouth lifts into a half-smile. "Glad I'm not the only one who still gets up when nobody should be awake."

Lucille's eyes widen and then she laughs, "You still do that? It's been two years, Toby."

_"It's to break a habit,"_ I think. _"Especially one like that."_ I still wake up, thinking I'm back in Abnegation, and wait for Lucille to come in and start jumping on my bed or something like that before I remember where I am. Out loud, I ask, "Why else would I be up?"

"I don't know. To get ready for the next round of initiate-torture?" She shoves the last of her muffin into her mouth. When she turns to throw the wrapper in a trashcan next to the door, I notice that she has a tattoo on her back. It looks like a cluster of black swirls.

"The only thing I have to do is decide who's fighting who and write it on the chalkboard." I turn and tap my fingers in quick succession on the chalkboard. "And it takes me less than five minutes to do that."

She looks at her feet. "Oh."

"You're here to practice, aren't you?" I ask, though I already know the answer. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out.

"Yeah." She nods.

Unconsciously, I find myself smirking. "You underestimate yourself. A lot."

"Quit saying that!" She shouts, her cheeks turning pink. "I do not underestimate myself!"

"Yeah, you do." I refrain myself from laughing and walk into the arena painted on the floor. I put my hands up in a fighting position and say to her, "Shut the door and come here." She does what I tell her to. When she's standing inside arena, I motion for to put her hands up. "Okay, now what?" She asks as she raises her hands in a fighting position.

I raise my hands higher, so that they are level with my face. "What's wrong with my position?" I ask her.

Her eyes light up. She steps forward and punches me in chest. "Your hands are too high up," She replies. "They protect your face, but not your torso." She punches me again, this in my stomach.

I nod with approval. "Good. What about now?" I go to punch her with my right hand and drop my left hand at the same time.

She easily blocks my punch and then kicks me in the left side. "You let your guard down when you went to punch," She says.

"You have an eye for finding people's weak spots," I tell her. "And you're fast. And you know how to push through pain." I grab her wrist and squeeze it hard. She grits her teeth and slams her forearm into my elbow. I let go of her wrist and she quickly moves to edge of the arena.

We fight for roughly fifteen minutes. Lucille is pretty good at it. I purposely change my fighting position a couple times and she punches holes through my guard. To give her a boost of confidence, I let her win. I stick my leg out and she doesn't hesitate to hook her foot around it and yank it out from underneath me. I land on the floor with a wooden _bang!_

She gives me a look as she puts her foot on my chest. "That was too easy. You let me win!" She accuses me.

I shake my head. "No, I didn't," I say, but she knows that I'm lying. Neither of us have been good at lying to each other.

"Yes, you did," She says, insistent.

An idea comes into my head. "I didn't." I attempt to sit up, but she keeps pinned to floor with her foot. "Help me up and I'll show you."

I hold my hand out. Her eyes widen and she takes her foot off of my chest without a second thought. I hide a grin as she tries pull me up. She grunts and huffs and uses both of her hands, but I am just dead weight. Then, without warning, I jerk on her hand hard and she loses her balance. I rush to my feet while she hits the floor. "See?" I grin at her. "I didn't let you win."

She rolls her eyes as she pushes herself into a sitting position. "That was cheating."

"No, it wasn't." I shake my head, unable to wipe the grin off my face.

"Oh, yeah?" She says, standing up. "Explain to me how that _wasn't_ cheating."

I shrug and say, "All's fair during a fight. Besides, if I was going to cheat, I would've done this-" I quickly move so that I'm right behind her -"when you turned and elbowed me in the stomach."

I wrap my arms around her waist and pick her up. "Damn you!" She shrieks in surprise when her feet leave the ground. She breaks out in laughter when I spin her around. I can't help joining in her laughing fit as I set her on her feet. When she turns around to face me, she has to brace her knees with her hands to keep from falling over. For some reason, this makes me laugh even harder.

When our laughing fit settles, Lucille backs up until she hits the closest wall and wipes her teary eyes. "You're horrible, Toby," She says as she struggles to catch her breath.

My face feels like it's going to crack open from how wide I'm grinning. "But you still love me, Lucy," I state the obvious.

"You're my brother _and_ my initiation instructor. Do I have a choice?" She asks.

"Nope."

A wide smile turns her lips up. She opens her mouth to talk, but closes it quickly at the sound of the door creaking open

The smile falls from my lips as I turn around. The clock over the door reads 6:25 a.m, still too early for any of the other initiates to be up.

But it's not an initiate who walks in. It's Eric.

The temperature in the room drops about ten degrees. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lucille stand up straight. I frown and straighten up myself. What is Eric doing here? He usually doesn't come in until about five minutes before training starts.

Eric stops mid-step. His eyes glint with surprise as they move from me to Lucille. "What's going on here?" He asks curiously.

I answer quickly, "Red came in to practice before training starts and I offered to help."

"Ah." He nods and shuts the door. My stomach drops when he asks, "What was that laughing I heard about then?" In my peripheral vision, I see Lucille's blue eyes widen in shock before she puts a blank expression on.

"That was me," Lucille says. "I was laughing because I took Four down and I couldn't believe that I did," She half-lies.

His eyes widen with disbelief. "You took _Four_ down?" He asks, nodding at me.

"Yes" She calmly replies. I nod in agreement with her.

A look of shock and incredulity flashes across Eric's face. Nobody - let alone an initiate - has been able to take me down. When he recovers his self-control, he leans against the wall.

"What?" Lucille asks. I turn partially so I can see her better. "Is it against the rules for an initiate to practice before training?"

He shakes his head. "No."

The atmosphere is heavy with tension. For a minute, there is just silence. Then Lucille pushes her braid over her shoulder and walks back into the arena. "Can we go again?" She asks, putting her hands up.

"Sure," I agree, thankful for the distraction. I put my hands up and we circle each other.

_"Don't let me win this time,"_ Lucille mouths to me when her back is turned on Eric.

I glance at Eric for a split-second. He is watching Lucille with an all too familiar look. He's waiting for her to fail. So when I mouth back to Lucille, _"I don't plan on it."_ I'm really lying. I have to let her win again so Eric doesn't question her story. But she doesn't need to know that.

I purposely leave a small gap in my guard which she quickly notices. She doesn't hesitate to reach out and strike the area where my ribs end and my stomach begins. I groan quietly, then go to kick her. She swiftly steps back to avoid it and bounces on the balls of her feet, ready to take off again at any moment.

I make the fight a little more difficult than the first one so that Lucille doesn't think I let her win again and so that Eric believes what she said about the laughing. It ends the same way the last one did, with Lucille hooking her foot around the back of my knee and pulling my leg out from underneath me. I end up on my back on the floor again.

"Looks like you've met your match, Four," Eric remarks as I get up. He twists one of the multiple rings in his lip. "And from an _Abnegation transfer_ of all people," He phrases the sentence like an insult.

"Are you going to stop underestimating the transfers now?" I ask with a bored tone.

"I might have to," He replies and stands up straighter.

The clock now reads 6:50. Lucille wipes the sweat off of her forehead and walks towards the door. She tenses when Eric grabs her upper arm just as she's turning the doorknob. I tense, too. But all he does is say, "nice job" to her.

She nods and murmurs a "thank you" and then leaves the room.

As soon as she's gone, Eric turns to me and grins with disgusting malice. "Nice to finally meet your sister, _Tobias_."

I swear under my breath.

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**A/N: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please let me know if I did or didn't get Four's personality right. That is really, really important to me.**


	11. Knockouts and Running in Circles

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is from Red's POV. I hope you guys like it!**

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"Hey, Red!" Somebody calls out on the way to training.

I turn and see Al and Tris not that far behind me. "What's up?" I slow my pace so that they can catch up.

"You might want to change your sheets later," Al says.

I'm confused. My bed sheets were perfectly fine when I left the dorm. Why would I need to change them all of a sudden?

Before I can ask why, Al adds, "Peter spray painted "Stiff" on your bed."

"Seriously?" I groan, hoping that he's joking. But the look on his face says that he's not. "You've got to be kidding me." I want to go take the sheets off my bed, but I don't have the time. I groan again.

"Ignore him," Al says. "He's an idiot, and if don't get angry, he'll stop eventually."

I nod, but I'm too angry to say anything. I clench my hands into fists and speed my pace up again. When I reach the training room, someone grabs my shoulder from behind and slams me into the doorway. "Out of my way, Stiff," Peter says as he passes.

"Bastard," I murmur, forcing myself not to slap him even though I desperately want to.

"What?" Peter turns and raises an eyebrow at me.

"What?" I rub my shoulder and put on my best look of innocence. "I didn't say anything."

He rolls his eyes. "I thought Stiffs weren't supposed to call other people names."

"I didn't call anyone names," I say as more initiates come in. I narrow my eyes at him and add in a lower voice, "And I'm not in Abnegation anymore. I'm in _Dauntless_ now. Don't even _think_ about calling me "Stiff' ever again."

"Or what?"

"I don't think you want to find out." Seething angrily, I punch him hard on the arm, not caring if anybody notices or not, then turn on my heel and move to the other side of the room. When he glares at me, I flash a fake smile. He flips me off.

I ignore him and focus on braiding my hair as I turn towards the chalkboard. There weren't any names written on it earlier, but there are now.

_ Molly vs. Edward_

_ Peter vs. Tris_

My eyes widen. Peter and Tris? Seriously? Yesterday, Peter beat Drew in less than five minutes. Today, Drew's face is covered in bruises and it's painful just to look at him. I read the rest of the matches.

_ Christina vs. Will_

_ Al vs. Myra_

Well, that fight isn't going to last long.

Red vs. Drew

My eyes widen again. Drew? I let go of my half-braided hair and take a few steps towards Tobias, who is leaning against the wall next to the chalkboard. "Drew? Really?" I say to him in a harsh whisper. "He'll crush me!"

Tobias just stares at me emotionlessly and whispers back, "No, he won't." When I give him an incredulous look, he adds, "Look at him. What are his weak spots?"

I still glare at him for a moment before recalling what he said earlier. _"You have an eye for finding people's weak spots." _

I turn away from Tobias and glance across the room at Drew. He is standing by Peter - who is giving me a dirty look - and Molly. He is shorter than both of them, but is built like a mountain. I think back to the first round of fights yesterday. Drew's build makes his kicks and punches strong - Peter's winces yesterday weren't faked - but it also makes him pretty slow. Peter was literally able to run circles around him.

I think of my strong points. I'm small which means that I'm fast - but it also means that I'm not as strong as him. And then there's the pushing through pain thing. I have a fairly high pain threshold that's probably considered abnormal for a sixteen-year-old girl from Abnegation. Worst case scenario, I could just let him knock me down and get up each time until he gets worn out. I hate to think that it could come down to that, but I'm not going to let it happen unless I absolutely have to.

"First fight, Molly versus Edward!" Tobias calls out.

As Edward and Molly face each other in the arena, I move my fingers to my hair and curse under my breath. The part of my hair that I had gotten braided had come undone and my hair is starting dry and curl. I pay more attention to attempting to redo my braid than the first fight, but in the end, my hair is becoming too curly so I give up and pull my hair into a ponytail instead. A few curls too short for the ponytail fall into my face. I sigh and push them behind my ear.

I look up just in time to see Molly peeling herself off the floor. Edward walks out of the arena with a triumphant smirk and kisses Myra. I look away, still a little uncomfortable with seeing people kiss so openly. Four circles Edward's name, then stalks across the room to stand between Eric and the door with his arms folded. Eric looks at me and I look at the arena, an uneasy feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

Peter and Tris stand in the arena. "You okay there, Stiff? You look like you're going to cry," Peter says mockingly. "I might go easy on you if you cry."

I roll my eyes. Al is right. Peter is an idiot.

But he isn't done mocking Tris. When they both have their hands up, he adds, "Come on, Stiff. One little tear. Maybe some begging."

When do I get to fight Peter? I want to ask my brother that. Because I really, really want to knock some sense into him.

Tris goes to kick Peter, but he grabs her foot and wrenches forward, causing Tris to fall on her back. She pulls her foot out of his grasp and scuttles to her feet.

"Stop playing with her," Eric says snappily. "I don't have all day."

_"Then why did you decide to oversee our training?"_ I think to myself.

In the arena, Peter hits Tris in her jaw. She staggers to the side a little from the force of the punch. She moves as far away from him as the arena will allow. Peter flits into her path and kicks her hard in the stomach. Tris falls again. Peter grabs her hair when she gets up and punches her in the nose. Blood immediately starts gushing from her nose.

I clutch the bottom hem of my tank top, holding it so tightly that I feel my nails into my palms. I'm again asking myself what Tobias was thinking when he chose Dauntless. This is brutal, maybe too brutal. It keeps reminding me of Marcus, who I've been trying to _forget_.

Peter shoves Tris to floor. She coughs and pulls herself to her feet, only to get kicked in the side. She punches and him in the stomach and in turn, he smacks her ear.

I look up from the fight for a moment and see Tobias walk out the door. A frown lifts up the corners of my mouth. He's leaving again? Does he not remember what happened the last time he left us alone with Eric?

Tris' legs appear to give out and she falls. Peter kicks her in side and she actually screams, a high-pitched wail that bounces off the walls in the training room. Peter kicks her again.

"Enough!" Eric shouts before Peter can kick her a third time. "Get her up!"

I don't think - I run to into the arena. Will follows and we both lift her up. When I pull one of her arms across my shoulders, Will raises an eyebrow at me. I nod towards the chalkboard. "You're next," I tell him. "I got her." I wrap my arm around her waist for emphasis.

Will doesn't say anything, but he lets go of Tris. I teeter to the side for a minute before adjusting to her weight - we're about the same size. Al offers to help, but I tell him that I've got her. The infirmary is almost halfway across the Pit and his fight is right after Will and Christina's fight. Someone opens the door for me and I stumble out.

Tris is basically unconscious, so I'm supporting all of her weight. This works at first, but by the time I get to the infirmary, I'm struggling to breathe. Thankfully, a Dauntless nurse with at least four piercings in one ear runs over and helps me get Tris onto a bed. She doesn't ask what happened - I'm guessing she saw one or more unconscious kids be towed in here during the last initiation.

I lean against the wall for a minute, catching my breath, while the nurse evaluates Tris. "Is she… going to be alright?" I ask.

"I think so," The nurse replies. "She's just knocked out. Might have a broken nose, though." She look at me out of the corner of her eye. "You can go."

I nod and after a one last glance at Tris, I do go. Even though, I'm not too fond of having to fight Drew, I know it won't do me any good to drag my feet so I half-run, half-walk back to training room. I'm hurrying past the initiates dormitory when I run straight into somebody's back.

I stumble back and push a few curls that fell into my face behind my ear. "I am so sorry," I apologize quickly as the person turns around. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just watch where you're-" Tobias stops abruptly when he realizes that I'm the person who ran into him. "What are you doing, Lucy?" He asks.

"Walking back to the training room," I reply.

"I know. I mean, what are you doing _outside_ of the training room?" He asks, emphasizing the word _outside_.

I look down the hall behind me, then say, "I just took Tris to the infirmary. Eric didn't say anything against it. Why, is it time for my fight?"

"What? I don't know." He shakes his head. "Is Tris alright?" He asks with genuine concern.

I start walking down the hallway and he follows. "She might have a broken nose, but other than that, she's alright. The nurse told me that she was knocked out, so I'm guessing that I just drug a hundred-and-ten pounds of dead weight halfway across the… Wait a minute!" I stop abruptly as I realize something and then whip around, almost running into my brother again. "You like Tris!" I exclaim.

Tobias stops and takes a step back. "Shh," He hushes me. Then his eyes widen when he comprehends what I just said. "Wait, what?"

I grin. "You like Tris," I say in a sing-song voice and I poke him with my index finger. "You likey-like her."

"I do not like her," He says and puts his hands on my shoulders. Or he tries to put his hands on my shoulders, but then I step back at the last minute. "Really?"

"You likey-like her," I sing-song, still grinning. I start walking backwards.

Tobias rolls his eyes and follows me. When we reach the end of the hallway and turn the corner towards the training room, he asks, "What were your aptitude test results?"

I raise an eyebrow at him. "What were yours?"

He doesn't answer, so I turn around and start walking forward. When we reach the training room, he leans over me and grabs the door handle. Before he opens the door, I look over my shoulder at him and say in a quiet voice, "Also, you've got to stop leaving suddenly. Do you not remember what happened when you left yesterday?"

He nods. "I'll see what I can do." Then he pushes the door open and we both walk in.

Al and Myra are in the arena, appearing to have just started. I hurry to other side of the room, away from Tobias and over to Christina and Will.

"Is Tris okay?" Christina asks.

"Yeah," I reply. "She might have a broken nose, but other than that, she's fine." It just then that I notice that Christina has ice pack pressed to her jaw. "What happened to you?" I ask her.

Will grins. "I beat her up."

"Really?" I look at Will, then at the chalkboard. His name is circled. "Wow."

A loud _thud!_ has me turning around, half-expecting Myra to be on the floor. But it's not Myra, it's Al. My eyes widen. Al? Knocked down by Myra? I don't believe it.

Tobias goes to help Al up, but Al waves him off and stands up on his own. I can't help but stare at him as he walks over to where me, Will, and Christina are standing. Will pats him on the back. _"What did I miss?"_ I wonder.

"Last fight, Red versus Drew!" Eric calls out after drawing a circle around Myra's name.

_Red versus Drew._ I swallow hard and wipe my sweaty palms along the fabric of my leggings. As I enter the arena, Tobias grabs my arm and stops me dead in my tracks. I look into his blue eyes, which are strangely intense. "Remember, weak spots," He says, his voice so quiet that I can barely hear it. "Watch his guard and keep on the balls of your feet."

I glance at Drew - who is already standing in the arena with his hands up - for a split-second, then look back at Tobias and nod. "Okay," I say, speaking as quietly as he did. He releases my arm and walks over to the chalkboard, staying a couple feet away from Eric.

I push a couple loose strands of hair behind my ear for what feels like millionth time today and take a deep breath. Then I raise my hands and bounce on the balls of my feet a couple times to make sure that I can move quickly.

Drew gives me a confused look and asks, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," I reply and stop bouncing, but keep myself balanced on the balls of my feet.

Drew and I circle each other and I take that time to look over him with scrutinizing eyes. He looks bigger up close, which makes me a little nervous, but I push that nervousness back. I look at his hands and force myself to put a blank expression on my face. I want to kiss my brother for telling me to watch Drew's guard because Drew has a gap in his guard big enough to drive a truck through. Or my fist. Looking down to his legs and feet, it gets difficult to remain blank-faced. His knees are locked, which will make it hard for him to move.

Then, as I'm still studying his legs, he steps forward. I quickly duck and then jump back, avoiding the punch aimed for my jaw. _"Don't let him hit you in the head,"_ I silently tell myself. _"A blow to the head and you'll be unconscious on the floor."_

I block another punch aimed for my face and then I slam my foot into Drew's unprotected side. He groans more from surprise than pain, obviously not expecting the kick, then tries to grab my foot, but I quickly bring it to the floor and back away from him.

I grin when he grunts in frustration. _"Can't hit me if you can't get to me. And I'll bet I know who'll be the quickest to get worn down."_

Out of all the hits that Drew gets in during the fight, there are only two that really take me back. The first is a kick to my side within the first half of the fight. His foot hits a few scabbed scars on my left side and I swear I felt the scabs fall off. The second is a slap across the tender skin where my tattoo is in the last few minutes that makes me gasp before I force my elbow into his stomach.

I manage to get a few hits and kicks in, but the thing that's the most effective is running around and staying out of arm and leg's length. Eventually, Drew - gasping and panting - falls to his hands and knees as he struggles to breathe. I look over at the chalkboard just in time to see Tobias pick up a piece of chalk and draw a circle around my name.

"Nice!" Christina says when I walk over to her, Will, and Al. Will holds his hand up and I don't hesitate to high-five it.

"Thanks," I say, breathing heavily. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to beat him like that."

"Hold up!" Eric calls out before we start leaving. Everyone turns to look at him. "Tomorrow, we're going to take a trip to fence to learn about Dauntless jobs," He says. "Be at the tracks by eight-fifteen."

Eric steps back and leans against the wall, a signal for everyone to get out. As I walk by Tobias, he leans slightly forward and whispers, "Good job" in my ear.

I turn and flash him a grin, then run out the door.

"Let's go see Tris," Christina suddenly suggests when we round the corner away from the training room. Will, Al, and I all agree and so the five of us start walking to the infirmary.


	12. Friends

"Is her eye already black?" I ask. I feel bad for asking, but I couldn't help it.

Tris was still unconscious when we arrived at the infirmary about five minutes ago. The nurse said she should be waking up soon, so Christina and I sat down on the left side of Tris' bed and Will and Al sat on the right. Christina shrugs at my question and holds a fresh ice pack to her jaw.

As if she heard my question, Tris opens her left eye - the other one is swollen shut and blackish-colored. I look down, feeling my cheeks warm up.

"What happened to your face?" Tris asks, her voice a little slurred from the pain medicine.

Christina laughs. "Look who's talking. Should we get you an eye patch?"

"Well, I already know what happened to _my_ face," Tris says. "I was there. Sort of."

Will grins. "Did you just make a joke, Tris?" He asks teasingly. "We should get you on painkillers more often if you're going to start cracking jokes. Oh, and to answer your question - I beat her up."

"I wish I'd made it back in time to see _that_," I say with a quiet laugh.

"I can't believe that you couldn't beat Will," Al says, shaking his head.

"What? He's good." Christina shrugs. "Plus, I think I've finally learned how to stop losing. I just need to stop people from punching me in the jaw."

I snort.

Will winks at her. "You know, you'd think you would have figured out already. Now I know why you aren't Erudite. Not too bright, are you?"

Christina reaches one long leg out and kicks Will in the shin. While he winces and rubs his leg, Al asks, "You feeling okay, Tris?"

"Yeah," She replies. "Just wish I could stay here forever so I never have to see Peter again." At soon as she say again, her good eye shifts and she looks around the room curiously.

"Don't worry about Peter," says Will reassuringly. "He'll at least get beat up by Edward, who has been studying hand-to-hand combat since we were ten-years-old. For fun."

"Good," Christina says, then checks her watch. "I think we're missing dinner. Do you want us to stay here, Tris?"

"I'm fine," Tris says, shaking her head.

Christina, Will, and I all get up, but Al waves us ahead. As we walk away, I hear Al tell Tris, "I just wanted to tell you that you missed Eric's announcement. We're going on a field trip tomorrow, to the fence, to learn about Dauntless jobs. We have to be at the tracks by eight fifteen."

"Good," I hear Tris say before I walk out of earshot. "Thanks."

"What's that on your shirt?" Will asks me as when we're out of the infirmary.

I look down and see a large wet spot on the left side of my tank top where Drew kicked me. I swear and say, "I fell a couple days ago and scabbed up my side. I think the scabs might have fallen off when Drew kicked me." We walk by the hall that leads to the initiate dormitory and I stop. "I'm going to change my shirt real quick. I'll meet you guys at the dining hall."

"I'll come with," Christina says. Before I can open my mouth to protest, she turns to Will and says, "We'll meet you at the dining hall."

When Will nods and walks away, I look at her and say, "I think can handle a few scabs and a bloody tank top by myself." I don't want her to see the scars on my sides or my back, because then she'll know that I didn't fall and ask questions about what happened to me that I can't answer.

But all she does is grab my hand and - literally - drag me towards to dormitory, with a stop to girls' bathroom to get a couple pieces of toilet paper.

The dormitory is unsurprisingly empty when we walk in. I groan when I see my bed and remember what Al told me on the way to training this morning: _"Peter spray-painted "Stiff" on your mattress."_ Al definitely wasn't lying. The word "Stiff" is spray-painted in big red letters on my sheets and pillow case. I strip off the sheets and throw them in the trash, then put new sheets on my bed.

When I open one of the drawers under my bed, Christina says, "Can I see that?"

My eyes follow her gaze to my drawing pad on top of a stack of black clothing. I pick up the drawing pad and hand it to her, saying, "There's only one picture in there."

She opens it to the first page - which is a picture of a train. and her eyes widen. "Wow, did you draw this?"

"Yes," I say, going through my drawer.

"It's beautiful."

"Thanks." I pick up a simple black dress with gold beading along the square neckline. I watch Christina as she studies the drawing, to make sure that she's not paying attention to me before I pull the tank top off. I was right about my left side - the scabs had fallen off and the scars were bleeding. I clean up my side with the toilet paper the best I can, then I grab a bandage from my drawer and stick it on there to keep from bleeding through my clothes again. I slide my dress over my head just as Christina looks up at me. "Ready to go?" I ask, not bothering to take off my leggings.

"Can I bring this with?" She asks, gesturing to the drawing pad.

"Sure," I say with a shrug. I grab my box of colored pencils, then pick up the tank top and the toilet paper, and toss them in the trash on our way out.

The dining hall is loud and bustling as it usually is at dinner time. Me and Christina make our way to the table where Will and Al are sitting.

"Hey, are you alright?" Will asks as Christina and I sit.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell him reassuringly. "All bandaged up." I set my box of colored pencils on the table.

"You've got to see this picture," Christina says. She places my drawing pad between her and Will. It's open to the picture of the train. "Red drew it."

I absentmindedly take a hamburger from the plate in the middle of the table as I watch Will and Al's reactions closely. Their eyes widen. "You drew this?" Al asks, trying and failing to hide the surprise in his voice.

"Yes," I say, suddenly feeling nervous. What was I thinking when I agreed to let Christina bring my drawing pad to the dining hall? It's too late to do anything about it, of course, but that doesn't stop me from internally yelling at myself.

Thankfully, neither Will nor Al seem to remember that I am originally from Abnegation and that I shouldn't be able to draw like this. Or if they do remember, they don't mention it. "This is really good," Will comments.

"Thanks." I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding in. "It's not finished, though." I had only started the drawing last night and I barely got to work on it this morning after my shower.

"Can we see it when it's done?" Will asks.

I shrug. "Sure."

Christina changes the subject and asks Al how he couldn't beat Myra, which I was curious about as well. Myra, who wasn't that hard to fight to me, should have been easy for Al to take down. But Al doesn't say anything; he just shrugs in reply. I take my drawing pad back and work on the picture as I eat.

For some reason, my mind keeps wandering back to Tris. It may be the Abnegation in me, but I feel sorry for her. I think back to when I was walking back to the training room and I ran into my brother. Tobias showed a genuine concern for Tris after I'd told him that I had taken her to the infirmary, a concern he's never had for anyone but me. _"He likes her,"_ I think. _"He really likes her."_ I had teased Tobias about him liking Tris in the hallway, but it was true, even if he didn't yet realize it.

Hmm, maybe I should do something for Tris... and not just because of my brother's interest in her - though that might be a part of it. I actually like Tris and a part of me keeps saying that I shouldn't be sitting here with Al, Will, and Christina while she is by herself in the infirmary. So when I finish eating, I gather my drawing pad and colored pencils and tell the others that I'm going to the dorm. Almost as an afterthought, I grab a plate with a piece of chocolate cake and a fork.

The silence in the infirmary is almost deafening compared to the loudness in the Pit and the dining hall. Having spent most of my sixteen years in silence, I can't decide if I like it or not.

Tris is awake and staring at the blanket covering her legs. "Hey," I say and my voice sounds like a cannon is the silence. I look around the room for a brief second to make sure I didn't accidentally wake anyone else up even though I didn't speak that loudly.

Though she doesn't jump, there is some surprise in her expression when she looks up at me. "What are you doing here?"

I offer her a smile and sit on the bed beside her. "I just thought you might like some company," I say, unable to come up with anything else. It's not like Tris and I have been best friends, but we never had anything against each other.

She watches me and returns my smile with less effort. I can tell she's in pain. "Oh, well thanks. How did your fight go?"

It's obvious that she is trying to take the focus off of her, but I go along with it, not wanting to make her anymore uncomfortable than she already is. "Uh, it was good," I offer.

Tris nods. "Who did you fight?"

"Drew."

"Oh, that must have been something," She smirks. "Would have liked to see that."

I can't help but smile. "Yeah, well... it wasn't really that good."

Tris snorts and rolls her eyes. "Doubt it."

"I'm not sure if running around the arena to get away from your opponent actually counts as _fighting_," I say with a laugh that sounds like a cough. I look down at my lap and realize that I am still holding the cake. "Oh," I say, looking back at Tris. "I forgot... I brought this for you." I hold out the plate to her.

Her cheeks turn a faint pink as she takes the plate from me. "You didn't have to do that."

"Eh, I wanted to." My eyes widen as soon as the words leave my mouth. Did I just say that? That was the most Abnegation thing I could have said. I get up, my cheeks feeling warm, and brush non-existent dust off of my lap. "I should go and let you rest," I say and then walk away quickly.

I barely get a few steps away from the bed when Tris says, "Red?"

"Yeah?" I stop and look over at her.

"Um, thanks for the cake," She says.

I smile a little. "Thanks." As I walk away, I feel proud, like I accomplished something I've never been able to before. I hope this means that Tris and I are friends.

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**A/N: I'd like to thank HeartofGold7 who has been super supportive of this story and used her awesome writing skills to help me write the last scene in this chapter. **


	13. Field Trip

**A/N: I can't tell you how sorry I am for the long gap between updates. I'd love to say that I'm going to update more frequently, but that's just not the case. I'll try to, I promise, but I can't make any guarantees. I got a job just a few weeks before my last update and that has taken up much of my time and recently I started an original story that I love, which has taken up even more of my time. I'm so sorry.**

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My side is a mixture of ugly colors when I take the bandage off the next morning. I stare at it in the fluorescent lighting of the girls' bathroom with a combination of curiosity and disgust. The whole area is angry pink scars dotted with reddish-brown scabs and bordered by huge blue-black bruises. A hiss escapes from between my gritted teeth as I swipe a peroxide-doused cotton ball across my side one last time and then toss it in the trash can. I slide my shirt on and walk out of the bathroom.

The dining hall is buzzing with people when I enter. I grab a muffin, turn around to leave, and run in someone. "Not again," I grumble under my breath. I step away, apologizing, and then I see who I ran into. "Not again," I repeat.

Standing in front of me, looking more amused than I have ever seen him in public, is my brother. "Good morning," He says and his lips are twitching with the effort of holding back a smile. I roll my eyes and go to walk past him, but he grabs my arm before I can take two steps. "Are you going to the tracks?" He asks in a low voice.

"Yes," I say.

"Wait here a moment," He tells me and lets go of my arm. I turn and watch as he moves smoothly through the room and takes a muffin from the nearest empty table. "Ready?" He asks when he comes back to me.

I look around the dining hall and then nod. "Yes," I say a second time.

I blink in surprise when I walk out of the Pire - the glass building above the Pit. After three days inside the Dauntless compound, the bright morning sun is blinding. "I think I have gone blind," I say, unsuccessfully attempting to shield my eyes with my hand. "How are you still able to see after staying down there for days at a time and then coming up here?"

"Don't be over-dramatic, Lucy," Tobias says, turning away from the sun and heading towards the train tracks.

I turn and follow him, squinting from the sun's light. "I am not being over-dramatic," I say, annoyed at his tone of nonchalance. He chuckles and I scowl. "It's not funny, Toby! I am serious!"

"Calm down, Lucille," He says and his use of my full name surprises me enough that I forget what I was going to say next. "I was just teasing you. There is no need to be defensive."

A rush of heat rises in my cheeks. "Sorry," I mumble, looking down at my shoes.

"Also, you don't need to say sorry all the time. You're not in Abenegation anymore."

"Sorry," I mumble again before I can stop myself. Even more heat rises in my cheeks. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Tobias give me a half-smirk and can't help returning it. "The Blushing Dauntless. Lovely."

Tobias shrugs as we reach the train tracks. "There are worse ways to be remembered by." There is a bitter tone to his voice.

"True," I say in agreement. "Are you going to eat?" I ask, gesturing to his uneaten muffin.

He looks at the muffin as if he had forgotten about it. I wouldn't be surprised if he had. "Depends… are you?" He smirks at me again.

I realize that I am still holding my own muffin. "I had every intention of eating this muffin when I got it and I still do," I say, looking back up at him. "I was just… momentarily distracted from doing so."

His smirk grows wider. "Might want to eat quickly then," He says, quickly peeling the wrapper off of his muffin.

"Why? We have a while before the other initiates come out." As soon as the words come out of my mouth, I realize what he means. "You wouldn't dare."

Tobias reaches out to snatch my muffin with his free hand. I back away quickly, holding it out of his reach. "Hey! Eat your own muffin!" I exclaim. "Keep your hands off mine!"

He laughs. "What happened to us being on the same side?"

"We _are_ on the same side. As long as you don't try to take my muffin away from me." Keeping a few feet between us, I pull the wrapper off my muffin and take a bite of it. "I like blueberry."

"I know." The crooked smile that crosses his face is one that only comes out when it's just the two of us. "So do I." He holds his muffin up so that I see it's the same as mine before he takes a bite.

"Are we going to keep meeting like this?" I ask after a few moments of us eating in silence.

"Like how?"

"Training, collisions." Tobias sputters when I say "collisions," but I keep talking. "I know we can't be seen together too much in public because nobody knows that we are related, but can't I see you one time that isn't due to training or the fact that my body seems intent on running into you every chance it gets?

"I could tell you where my apartment is." Tobias's voice is so quiet that I have to step toward him so I can hear him. "But I do have friends and a job outside of training. You couldn't come barging in whenever like you used to come barging into my room."

"I know. Do you think I want to walk in on you with some girl?" I ask teasingly.

He gives me a look. "Who do you think I am?"

"I'm kidding!" I snicker. "Now who's the one being defensive?"

He lets out an exasperated sigh and shakes his head. "You know-" He begins to say, but then stops abruptly. The look of exasperation on his face quickly transforms into a blank, almost bored expression. I follow his gaze over my shoulder and see a group of people in black headed our way. The other initiates. Almost as if on cue, I hear a train blow its horn in the distance.

I turn and give Tobias a look to let him know that this conversation isn't over. He shakes his head again and kicks lightly at the dirt, turning his eyes downward. I take a step away from him and shove my empty muffin wrapper into my back pocket.

Within a minute, we are surrounded by everyone. I glance around and spot Will and Al at the back of the group, but not Tris and Christina. I swallow the last bit of my muffin without chewing and hurry to the back. "Where's Tris and Christina?" I ask. "They are going to miss the train." And it's true - I can I hear the train tracks vibrating and the horn of the train is much louder.

"Hang on a minute," Will says. "They're on their way." He gives me a curious glance. "How long have you been out here anyway?"

"Only a few minutes," I lie, fighting the blush that threatens to rise in my cheeks. It's been longer than "a few minutes" - closer to a half hour, I think - but I'm not going to tell him that.

Will is still looking at me with that curious glance. "Were you just talking to Four?"

It takes a great amount of effort to keep the surprise from his question off of my face. How did he see me and Tobias from all the way back here? "No," I say, keeping my voice neutral. "Why would I be talking to Four?" _Aside from the fact that he's my brother, of course._

He shrugs and says, "Eh, I don't know," then looks over the top of my head. I turn around and see Christina and Tris half-walking, half-running up to us.

The blare of the train horn is nearly deafening. "What took you so long?" I shout over it.

"Stumpy Legs over here turned into an old lady over night," Christina says, inclining her head toward Tris.

"Oh, shut up," Tris says.

I look at both of them for a moment before turning back around. The train almost looks as if it's moving in slow motion as it passes by Tobias, who is standing extremely close to the tracks. He takes a few steps back as everyone starts running. Will lands on his stomach and ends up swinging his legs in behind him. The wind slams my cheek into the side of the train when I grab the handle on the side of the car and pull myself in. I cradle the side of my face and move back to avoid getting knocked over. Tobias pulls himself into the car smoothly, like there's nothing to it. I catch him smirking at me for a moment and resist the urge to roll my eyes and stick my tongue out. Show off.

I barely see the top of Tris's head as she jogs next to the car and grabs the handle, preparing to jump in. But then Al grabs her under the arms and lifts her into the car with him. Her cheeks turn a faint pink as she turns to smile at Al.

"Feeling okay there?" I make a face at the sound of Peter's voice. "Or are you a little... _Stiff_?" He laughs at his own joke, Drew and Molly do as well. I roll my eyes and shake my head.

"We are all awed by your incredible wit," Will says in a monotonous voice.

"Yeah," adds Christina, "are you sure you don't belong in Erudite? I hear they don't object to sissies."

I snort a laugh.

Peter looks like he's going to retort something back, but Tobias speaks before Peter can even open his mouth. "Am I going to have to listen to your bickering all the way to the fence?" He asks, annoyed.

Everyone turns silent instantly. I want to say, "Yes, do you have a problem with that?" but I bite my lip against it instead. There would be consequences if I said that, no doubt. Tobias turns to the car's opening and holds the handles on either side, leaning forward until most of his body is outside of the train car. I sit down and watch him for a moment before looking at the patchwork of crumpling, dilapidated buildings.

"What do you think think is out there?" I hear Tris ask and glance at her. "I mean, beyond the fence."

"A bunch of farms, I guess," Christina says with a shrug.

"Yeah, but I mean... past the farms. What are we guarding the city from?"

Christina wiggles her fingers at Tris. "Monsters!"

Tris rolls her eyes and I half-smile.

"We didn't even have guards near the fence until five years ago," Will says. " Don't you remember when Dauntless police used to patrol the factionless sector?"

"Yes," Tris and I say at the same time. Our fathers were two of the people who voted to get the Dauntless police out of the factionless sector. _"The poor don't need policing." _Mr. Prior had said. _"They need help and we can give it to them."_ Me and Tobias also used to walk through the factionless sector to get to and from school.

"Oh, right," says Will. "I bet you saw them all the time."

"Why would you say that?" Tris asks sharply. I look at her with surprise.

Will looks at me, then at her questioningly. "Because you had to pass the factionless sector to get to school, right?"

"What did you do, memorize a map of the city for fun?" Christina asks him sarcastically.

"Yes," He replies, and his puzzled look makes him look like a little kid. "Didn't you?"

Before anyone can say something back, the train's brakes squeal and everyone lurches forward. I stumble to my feet and turn to the car's opening. The train has stopped under an awning and instead of a sea of abandoned buildings, there is a sea of yellow-green grass. Tobias jumps to the ground and I narrowly avoid running into him when I jump down. I make a face at him when he smirks for a quick moment at my stumbling. Today just isn't my day.

The fence is nearly three times my height and topped with barbed wire. On the other side of the fence, there are a few Dauntless guards with guns.

"Follow me," says Tobias. I linger towards the back of the group as my brother leads us toward the gate. The cracked, uneven road beyond the gate goes farther than I can see. With nothing but a small cluster of mostly dead trees on one side and dying grass, the road looks lonely.

"If you don't rank in the top five at the end of initiation, you will probably end up here," Tobias says as he reaches the gate. "Once you are a fence guard, there is some potential for advancement, but not much. You may be able to go on patrols beyond the Amity farms, but-"

"Patrols for what purpose?" Will asks. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious about that as well.

But Tobias doesn't give him a direct answer. "I suppose you'll discover that if you find yourself among them. As I was saying." A small amount of annoyance creeps into his voice at being interrupted. "For the most part, those who guard the fence when they are young to guard the fence. If it comforts you, some of them insist it isn't as bad as it seems."

Next to me, Christina whispers something to Tris but I don't hear what it is. "What rank were you?" Peter asks Tobias.

I stare at Tobias. I never even thought about asking him that. "I was first," He says. I raise an eyebrow at him when I catch his eye for a moment. First?

"And you chose to do _this_?" Peter asks incredulously. "Why didn't you get a government job?"

I know the answer before Tobias even speaks. "I didn't want one." Having a government job would have meant working with other faction leaders and that would mean working with our father. I wouldn't want a government job either.

I watch as the Dauntless guards start pulling the doors open to allow a truck to drive through. The driver of the truck is smiling when he stops inside the gate and gets out - it's pretty apparent that he's Amity. The Dauntless guards check the back of the truck, which holds crates full of apples and a couple Amity. One of them, a boy, hops out.

"Beatrice!" He calls out and his voice sounds familiar. When he walks to Tris and gives her a hug, I understand why he looks familiar. He was Abnegation. His name is Robert Black, I believe.

"Didn't any of the Abnegation stay in Abnegation this year?" A voice says by my ear and I nearly jump.

"I _really_ hate when you do that," I say to my brother in a murmur. "You didn't tell me you ranked first."

"You never asked," He replies just as quietly.

"I want to talk to you," I tell him.

"The dining hall. Midnight," He says and then he walks away.

The guards finish inspecting the truck. A girl in the back starts picking on the banjo as the truck trundles away. I can still hear it in my head when all the initiates get back on the train five minutes later.

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**A/N: I think my favorite part about this whole story is Red and Tobias's relationship. It's really interesting. I'll admit that this ending isn't my best, but I sort of ran out of ideas. Hopefully the next one will be better.  
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